Preview: India vs Sri Lanka Ist ODI: India's journey to World Cup 2019 begins at Dambulla

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Dambulla: The Tests clinched without much of a strain, India will begin their journey to identify the core of their 2019 World Cup squad when they square off against a low-on-confidence Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series, starting here on Sunday (August 20).

India are not treating this as just another bilateral ODI series. Chief selector MSK Prasad clearly outlined this, stressing on the aspect of fitness as India begin their preparations for the 2019 World Cup in England.

The Indian thinktank has made a lot of moves in this regard, and the most important of them is the declaration that KL Rahul will bat at no 4 throughout the series. Rahul has only played six ODIs thus far in his short injury-prone career, and in all of them, he has opened the innings.

The team management hopes this will prove to be a long-term move, ending the instability that has been associated with the no.4 spot since the 2015 ODI World Cup when Ajinkya Rahane relinquished it after some average outings.

This move also highlights that Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma will continue to open the innings, with Rahane the third-choice opener given the presence of both Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav in the squad.

With MS Dhoni occupying the no.5 spot, and Hardik Pandya taking in the all-rounder role at no.7, both Pandey and Jadhav will be vying for that solitary no.6 spot.

The Dambulla International Stadium hasn't been a happy hunting ground for the Men in Blue, though.
They have played 17 ODIs here, stretching back to 2004, and won nine of those matches, including bilateral and triangular series (in 2005 and 2010 involving West Indies and New Zealand respectively), and two Asia Cups in 2004 and 2010.

Head-to-head against Sri Lanka, they have played 11 ODIs at this venue but only managed to win four of them.

India's full-time bowling combination looks settled though, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah expected to lead the attack.

Kuldeep Yadav has proven himself to be the captain's front-line spin choice, and the second spinner's toss-up will be between Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal.

For Sri Lanka, meanwhile, this series is more than just a matter of saving face after their heavy losses in the Test series.

The hosts need two more ODI wins to confirm their spot in the 2019 World Cup by way of automatic qualification.

As such, new skipper Upul Tharanga will have his task cut out ahead of a major challenge.

Teams (from): India: Virat Kohli (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur.
Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga (Capt), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera, Milinda Siriwardana, Malinda Pushpakumara, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Thisara Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando.
Match starts at: 2.30pm IST; Live on: SonyTEN