Micromax Cup Cricket: India Vs Sri Lanka ODI Series From Tomorrow!

Team India is set to kick off the new cricket season. They meet their traditional rivals Sri Lanka in the first one-day international tomorrow at Hambantota, in Sri Lanka. The India-Sri Lanka bilateral cricket series hosted by Sri Lanka is part of the Future Cricket Tour Programs (FTP) prepared by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

India Tour of Sri Lanka-2012 consists of five one day internationals to be played during July 21-August 4 and just one Twenty20 international on August 7. Most members of Team India attended a two-day warm up camp in Chennai before coming to Sri Lanka. While Sachin Tendulkar opted for rest Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan have come back into the team.

India skipper MS Dhoni is under pressure to perform after the disappointments of the Australia Tri-Series and the Asia Cup, and the slide in ICC rankings. Seemingly refreshed by a hard-earned rest of about two months Dhoni had said during the camp that their performance would show what improvement the team had made in the meantime. Dhoni would take heart from the fact that he has a good record in Sri Lanka winning 10 out of 17 ODIs played there. Differences apart, Team India got a boost with the return of Sehwag who can now partner Gambhir again. Zaheer’s return is also going to strengthen the team’s bowling attack. The presence of Ajinkya Rahane in the team is also a plus, but his inclusion in the final eleven is uncertain.

This series is important due to several reasons. First, the T20 World Cup is going to be played in Sri Lanka in September, 2012. Second, Team India faces up to a very hectic season hosting tours of New Zealand, England, Pakistan and Australia in the coming months. And not the least, India is going to play all of these in sub-continental conditions and is not scheduled to set foot abroad till late 2013.

Let us brace up for an exciting cricket series! The Schedule!