India did the business with bat and ball in their opening, high-pressure match against Pakistan in this ICC Champions Trophy 2017. With Sri Lanka up next, Virat Kohli will not feel the need to change anything in the team as India look to close-in on a semifinal spot with victory over their neighbours on Thursday.
Deciding to drop your biggest match-winner in Test match cricket for such a big game like Pakistan would not have been an easy decision to make, but that selection to leave R Ashwin out of the India playing XI worked as well as they could have hoped.
India got their balance right with four pure bowlers and the all-rounder in Hardik Pandya, with every one of the bowlers doing their jobs in that Champions Trophy 2017 game against their rivals.
Ravindra Jadeja was outstanding with the ball as the sole spinner, while Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah did what was asked of them as well.
Pandya, after a demolition job with the bat, then chipped in with a couple of wickets, giving Kohli further confidence that he can be that all-rounder, equally with bat and ball, that India need.
The wickets have started to slow down already, so there might be a case to bring Ashwin back in for a fast bowler – although this wicket at The Oval had a bit of grass on it. But, considering how well Plan A worked for India, Ashwin might be kept back for the final Group B game against South Africa.
Sri Lanka have a lot of problems coming into this match.
After going down to South Africa in their opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, SL need to find a formula to bounce back. As Pakistan showed on Wednesday, a big loss doesn't necessarily mean tournament over, so Sri Lanka will take confidence from that.
Angelo Mathews will return to captain the Sri Lanka team after missing the opening match through a calf injury – he might only bat, though – but the man who stood-in as the skipper in that game against South Africa – Upul Tharanga – will miss out.
Tharanga was suspended for the next two games of the ICC Champions Trophy after Sri Lanka took more than four hours to complete their innings with the ball against South Africa.
Chamara Kapugedera will also not be a part of this match against India, with the batsman ruled out for the rest of the tournament after injuring his knee in training.
Danushka Gunathilaka has been named as Kapugedera's replacement and he is expected to be drafted straight into the playing XI, with Gunathilaka likely to take Tharanga's place at the top of the order.
Seekuge Prasanna went for 72 runs in his ten overs against South Africa, so Sri Lanka might consider bringing in either Lakshan Sandikan or Thisara Perera.
Confirmed playing XI:
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.
Sri Lanka: Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Medis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews (C), Kusal Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep.
