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Cricket
An explosive duel
First India-SL ODI today
Afp, Dambulla



THIS IS WHERE THE TURN COMES FROM: Sri Lanka spinner Ajantha Mendis (R) stretches his sinewy right shoulder ahead of a practice session at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene are looking forward to an explosive start to their one-day international series starting here Monday.

Sri Lanka's left-handed opener Sanath Jayasuriya may be 39, but remains a bowler's nightmare with his ability to change the course of a match with devastating strokeplay.

India will not easily forget their last encounter with the Sri Lankan, who hammered a quickfire century under pressure to set up his team's victory in the Asia Cup final in Karachi last month.

India's Virender Sehwag is an opener in form, having already hurt Sri Lanka with an unbeaten double-century in his team's victory in the second Test of a recent three-match series.

Although India lost the series 2-1, Sehwag was one of the few batsmen to salvage batting pride as he emerged his team's top scorer with 344 runs.

"Jayasuriya in form is always a great thing because he can contribute with both bat and ball," Jayawardene told reporters on Sunday.

"The start he gives makes a huge difference. If he stays for 10 or 15 overs, you are guaranteed a good start. He is a bit like Sehwag for India. That gives a different dimension to our set-up."

Jayasuriya has been haunting India ever since he cracked a 76-ball 79 in a 1996 World Cup match at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in New Delhi to power his team to an emphatic victory.

He was a trendsetter, redefining batting in the 1996 Cup with his consistent over-the-top hitting in the early overs to take advantage of fielding restrictions.

Other teams followed suit, bringing in a hard-hitter at the top of the order.

Jayasuriya appears to have a special liking for the Indian attack, having scored 2,429 runs in 74 matches with six hundreds. His best in 416 one-day internationals -- 189 at Sharjah in 2000 -- also came against India.

He is the second-highest scorer in one-day internationals with 12,688 runs, behind only India's Sachin Tendulkar (16,361).

Like the Sri Lankan, the 29-year-old Sehwag is also capable of dominating any attack on any surface with rich strokeplay. The Indian has scored 5,810 runs in 191 matches with nine hundreds and 29 half-centuries.

"Whenever he (Sehwag) gives us a good start we have a fair chance of winning the match," said Dhoni.

"A good start is very important in any form of cricket, but it does not mean the entire pressure is on the openers. Sehwag is a sort of player who takes a fair amount of risk. He is a strokeplayer.

"He is in a very good nick and so is Gautam Gambhir. They did well in the Tests also and will have added responsibility, but no pressure."

Dhoni said it was important for his team to dismiss Jayasuriya early.

"Jayasuriya can be compared with Sehwag or (retired Australian) Adam Gilchrist. It is important not to let them have a good start," said Dhoni.

"They are the batsmen who take chances. They can commit mistakes if you try to restrict them. All these players are very different, but for someone like Jayasuriya, it's important to get him out early."

India and Sri Lanka will play five one-day internationals, with the first two to be held here and the remaining three in Colombo.

TEAMS
INDIA (from): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha.

SRI LANKA (from): Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Udawatte, Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando, Ajantha Mendis, Thilina Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Jehan Mubarak, Malinda Warnapura.