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Dambulla: The 3-2 win last year fresh in mind, India will seek to maintain their supremacy while revenge will be on top of Sri Lanka's mind when the neighbours square off in the first ODI of the five-match series on Wednesday.
India begin a short limited-overs series in Sri Lanka after success in both forms of the game over the last six months.
India have been in ominous form in both forms of the game and the 5-0 whitewash against England in the ODI series at home gives a fair indication of the side's might. While Sri Lanka islanders struggled against minnows Zimbabwe and lost to Bangladesh in a recent tri-series in Dhaka.
Things looked better in the hastily arranged three-match ODI series in Pakistan where they lost the series opener before eventually clinching the series with back-to-back wins.
Nuwan Kulasekara had a fantastic 2008 in ODI cricket, and his start to this year hasn't been too shabby. In six matches in 2009, he has taken 12 wickets at 13.33. When India toured Sri Lanka last, Mahendra Singh Dhoni didn't have it easy. With Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar absent and the top order struggling, Dhoni and Suresh Raina were left with plenty to do.
Sachin Tendulkar has never faced Mendis in an ODI. Injury ruled him out of the last contest in Sri Lanka but his return reinforces India's top order. He averages 41.81 over the past 12 months and 42.00 in Sri Lanka. How he handles an in-form pace attack could prove a key component of this series.
Ace Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is poised to complete a record bowling double during the one-day series against India starting on Wednesday. The off-spinner is just three wickets short of surpassing former Pakistani paceman Wasim Akram's world record of 502 one-day scalps, having grabbed 500 in 324 matches so far.
| India | Sri Lanka | |
| Coach | Gary Kirsten | Trevor Bayliss |
| ICC Ranking | 3 | 7 |
| Key Players | Sehwag, Sachim, Zaheer, Ishant | Mendis, Murali, Jayasuriya, Sangakkara |
| Drawing Broad | Win the toss and field will be India's mantra as they have a potent pace attack which can exploit the moisture. MS Dhoni also prefers chasing whenever India plays's day match. | Jaysuriya and Dilshan need to go crazy at the top. Skipper will hope that the scars that Mendis created in the Indian minds, the last time arround are still intact. |
| Weather | Dambulla is generally a dry zone located in the North of SL. Expect no rain, but lots of sunshine and breeze. Players who are used to the heat and humidity of Colombo will find it a welcome relief to play up here. | |
| Pitch | The high water table in Dambulla means day matches are often decided by the toss. Team fielding first enjoy a huge advantage as the ball zips around a lot. | |
| Current Form | WWWWW | LWLWW (Recent last) |
| Head to head | Total 106, India 55, Sri Lanka 41, Tied 10 | |
