No Kohli, but SL still face virat challenge

Dharamsala,
India are here on the back of a series win and Sri Lanka have the psychological edge after drawing an eventful third Test in Delhi. Now is the time for the ODI series-opener to be played under ideal conditions in Dharamsala.
Both the teams would be playing the series under the reins of new captains and have their task cut out. India, under Rohit Sharma, have a seven-series win streak to maintain; on the other hand, Sri Lanka, under Thisara Perera, have a 12-match losing streak to break.
India’s dominant position against Sri Lanka is well known — head-to-head record of 88-55 — and at home they have been imperious in the recent past. India last lost to the Islanders at home eight years back in December 2009.
Losing does not seem like a good option for India in this series and certainly not for the most successful captain of the Indian Premier League on his ODI captaincy debut.
There is the small matter of the ICC ODI rankings as well. India, at No. 2, need to whitewash Lankans to attain the numero uno status. Leave alone the series-opener, losing even a single match in the three-match series will let South Africa retain the top spot.
If Indian fans are taking a victory here for a granted, can someone find fault with them?
Conventional wisdom suggests India do not need to do anything extraordinary. All they have to do is, go with the flow. “Having played with these guys for quite some time, I do understand their strength and weaknesses. So it will be all about going out and executing and making everybody comfortable,” said Rohit, who hit 106 off 66 balls against South Africa in a T20I here in October 2015.
“I don’t think I need to change anything, I just need to carry from where we left as a team,” he added. “For me also, I am not going to change a lot, the basics of captaincy will remain the same. I will try to stay in present, something I always try to do while captaining.”
Opportunity calls
However, there is some fine-tuning to be done. The team’s middle order is not yet settled and the three-match ODI series is one more opportunity for the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Shreyas Iyer, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya.
The Indian captain did not sound over-aggressive in his pursuit of a series win, he was more focused on the youngsters getting adequate “game time and following the processes”. The results, he said, would take care of themselves.
Miserable Lanka
Sri Lanka have been whitewashed (5-0) three times in 2017. They last won an ODI in India in the 2011 World Cup. Yet, Perera, Sri Lanka’s seventh captain in 2017, following Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Dinesh Chandimal, Upul Tharanga and Chamara Kapugedera, feels the team can win.
The 28-year-old all-rounder believes the team has the required balance and a couple of all-rounders to do the job. He expressed the hope that Angelo Mathews, who will bowl as well in the ODIs, Danushka Gunathilaka, Asela Gunaratne and Niroshan Dickwella will come good on a batting friendly wicket. Dhananjaya de Silva has been ruled out of the first ODI while pacer Suranga Lakmal is match-fit.
In ideal conditions, Rohit Sharma would be hoping that nothing changes, and Perera would be hoping that nothing remains the same.