The original rationale in building a cricket stadium in the dry zone Dambulla was that it provided Sri Lanka with the potential to host one-day matches throughout the year. But times have changed. Yesterday we saw both Sri Lanka and England cricketers being greeted with unrelenting rain at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium that deprived them of any practice ahead of today’s five-match ODI series lung-opener.
The prospect of the game getting off the ground today seems rosy with the forecast for cloudy weather.
Sri Lanka face a daunting task of trying to regain some of their composure as a competitive one-day side – a title which has eroded over time and pushed them to the bottom half rung of the one-day rankings at 8.
First round elimination from the Asia Cup was a bitter pill for the team to swallow and the individual who had to cop the blame for that disastrous showing was the captain Angelo Mathews who not only lost the captaincy but was also ousted from the team with fitness being cited as the core issue.
Mathews no doubt is the key batsmen in the one-day team especially with his experience and in the absence of the richly talented Kusal Mendis and aggressive opener Danushka Gunathilaka (injured) Sri Lanka will be hard pressed to put up a total good enough to challenge the no. 1 ranked ODI side.
This England team led by Eoin Morgan is no ordinary one-day side that can be brushed aside as in the past. Since their first round exit from the 2015 World Cup, they have built up a team (over the past three years) that is capable of performing in all types of conditions including the subcontinent that puts them streets ahead as favourites to win the ODI series.
