Rain again looks like being a major factor again when Sri Lanka host New Zealand in the second ODI in Hambantota on Tuesday.
Wet weather led to the first one-day international being abandoned on Sunday, with New Zealand at 13 for one, chasing a target of 289.
There aren't too many chances left in this short three-match series, which is followed by a couple of T20 internationals, and both sides will be hoping for a full game on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews and the rest of the think-tank were planning to rest a few of the senior stars, to give the youngsters a springboard into international cricket; but after the first ODI washout, Mathews admitted a rethink might be necessary.
"We were thinking of making a change to the team after the first match, depending on what the result was," Mathews said. "Now we've got to rethink that, because this match was a no-result. As I've said before, winning the series is our priority, and to do that we have to win both games."
Mathews, himself a beneficiary of forward-thinking, though, believes Sri Lanka have already taken quite a few steps towards securing their future and giving their youngsters an opportunity as the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan enter the twilight of their careers.
"If you look at our batting lineup right now, apart from TM Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, the other four in the top seven are all young cricketers, so there has to be a balance," he added.
"If you look at the bowling, Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga have been doing well, so we've taken the decision to play them. The young players have to be brought into the team, but the team has to also be winning and doing well."
New Zealand opener Tom Latham, part of a much-changed Kiwi squad, led by fast bowler Kyle Mills, believes the visitors did pretty well to restrict Sri Lanka to under 300, with the new ODI rules making the chase a very makeable one - had rain not intervened.
"With the new rules 300 is probably par and to keep them to 280-odd was good," Latham said. "When we were batting it was skidding on quite nicely. We did back ourselves to chase it.
"I can't see the wicket changing too much, but with the new rules -- with only four men out -- those bigger scores are possible, and we've even seen you can chase them down as well. We'll assess conditions tomorrow [Tuesday] and see what the par score is."
Where to watch
The match is scheduled for a 2.30 pm IST start on Tuesday afternoon with live coverage on Ten Cricket.
Expected lineups: Sri Lanka: Dilshan, Karunaratne, Sangakkara (wk), Jayawardene, Mathews (capt), Thirimanne, Chandimal, Kulasekara, Senanayake, Malinga, Herath.
New Zealand: Devcich, Latham, Nicol, Elliott, Munro, Anderson, Ronchi (wk), Neesham, N. McCullum, Milne, Mills (capt).
