IND vs SL in Kolkata: After claiming a victory by 67 runs in the first ODI, the highly charged Indian side will aim to continue the winning momentum when they face Sri Lanka in the second match of the series on Thursday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to clinch the series.

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India to stick with Rohit Sharma-Shubman Gill opening combination

With India’s skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill will begin the batting. Their first joint opening took place in Guwahati. And it went quite well for India, who on Tuesday against Sri Lanka put together a 143-run partnership to lay the foundation for a massive 373.

Nine batsmen have served as openers for India since the most recent ODI World Cup in England. Shikhar Dhawan’s falling strike rate (81.75 since the 2019 World Cup) has made it evident that he is no longer relevant, thus India is moving on to other competitors.

Rohit Sharma and Gill are the most reliable of all of them in terms of numbers, whether it is strike rate (both are above 97) or average (Sharma returns 46 and Gill 64.22). Guwahati was like starting over because they had never played together before. Additionally, the pair met the most of the criteria, not to mention its remarkably high strike rate (Gill finished with 116.66 and Sharma with 123.88).

Indian batters without centuries

Even after providing a solid platform and looking completely flawless while batting both India openers on Tuesday failed to complete their centuries.

Shubman Gill walked out for 70, while the skipper Rohit Sharma felt 17 short of 100.

India would have had a greater chance of passing the 400-run threshold than they did against Bangladesh when Kishan got a double hundred if Gill or Sharma had converted their hundreds on Tuesday.

With only four centuries achieved in 46 games since the 2019 final at Lord’s, two by Sharma and one each by KL Rahul and Kishan, India has struggled to score 100 runs this World Cup cycle.

The analogous stats for the 2015–19 World Cup cycle, by contrast, are astounding, with Sharma alone scoring 15 hundreds, Dhawan accounting for eight hundreds, and Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane scoring one each in a total of 86 matches.

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Team India’s new opening pair for ODIs

Now that Gill has been designated as Sharma’s opening partner, India has a fresh start. Gill has the perseverance to see out the game. He obviously has support as well.

Gill is a sound player, having proved his worth during the West Indies and Zimbabwe tours, registering most runs in both the series the ODI series.

IND vs SL in Kolkata

The second match of the series will take place in Kolkata as India looks to take a decisive series lead after three games.

Gill is familiar with Eden Gardens because he previously played for Kolkata Knight Riders. Sharma also scored a world-record 264 during the final One Day International here in an India and Sri Lanka clash in 2014.