the focus now shifts to...

india-srilanka ODI series...

image courtesy...cricinfo

in a day’s time india will be locking horns with sri lanka in a hurriedly organised series…

sri lanka is obviously brimming with confidence from his recent series win against over confident and lackluster pakistan…while pakistan played mendis relatively well…i think all their preparations were so much focused on spin or rather mendis that they apparently lacked the same while playing seamers…

this in a way is also the fruit of having a bowler like mendis in the ranks coz opposition team look to attack their seamers more in anticipation of some quiet overs from M&M if not wicket taking overs…

mendis has become the latest benchmark of playing spin so much so that playing murli seems almost as an afterthought for consideration…let alone playing their pacers…and therein lays the catch which pak discovered to their utter dismay…

india on other hand though looks confident unit…but is a slow starter after the break which has been the old nemesis they have not been able to shed off despite all the success they have enjoyed in recent past…and that’s where, i think, lies the best chance for sri lanka…if they can put pressure on india from the word go they will give themselves very good chance of avenging the series defeat which india inflicted on them in their home last time…

i, though, rather than the series result...will be focusing more on how yuvraj plays mendis and even murli…keeping in mind that he is now going to be certainty in tests and I would like to see how much progress he has made as batsman to be qualified for towards this very fact…while raina’s and rohit’s too will be looking forward to using this series as platform to stake their claim for the selection in tests too for nz tour…

in short it’s going to be the series where both teams will be looking at their new as well as some tried and tested players with keen eye on their performances…

final score line...?

i am predicting a closely fought series which can go either way...