Event of the Day: India v Sri Lanka

Our event of the day is the 2nd One-Day International between India and Sri Lanka at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, in Mohali, in the Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar district. A total of three ODIs will be played on the Sri Lankan Tour of India, following three Tests and prior to three Twenty20 Internationals. After two draws and one defeat in the Test matches, Sri Lanka won the first ODI in Dharamsala by seven wickets, which ended their 12-match losing streak in the ODI format. The Sri Lankans have a chance to win this three-match series today; while the hosts are looking for a quick turnaround and to level the series result before a decider in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. 

India’s captain and one of the best batsman in the world, Virat Kohli, is being rested for the ODI series and his replacement Rohit Sharma is under pressure after the first game, particularly after a poor batting performance, where Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey scored just 11 runs off 60 balls between them. Sri Lankan captain Thisara Perera, will be hoping that Angelo Mathews will have another great game – he needs 63 runs to become the tenth Sri Lanka batsman to score 5000 runs in ODIs; and he will also be pleased that Asela Gunaratne is fit to play again, after being out for four-and-a-half months due injury. It promises to be an exciting day/night match in Mohali.

 

Honourable mentions around the globe go to the FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals game between Al Jazira and Real Madrid at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Real, the European champions, start the competition in this phase, while the home side Al Jazira reached the semi-final following 1-0 victories over both, Auckland City and Urawa Red Diamonds. There’s more cricket as the England Lions face the Perth Scorchers at the Perth Stadium in Perth, part of the England Lions Tour of Australia. In the NBA, the Boston Celtics host the Denver Nuggets at the TD Garden in Boston. In the NHL, there’s a clash between the Vancouver Canucks and the Nashville Predators at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver. It’s Day 5 at the squash  2017 PSA World Championships at the National Squash Centre in Manchester. The Olympia Horse Show continues at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in London. There’s also plenty of football action with a Bundesliga game between Bayern Munich and FC Cologne at the Allianz Arena in Munich and a Premier League duel between West Ham United and Arsenal at the London Stadium in London.

 

Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!

 

Fixture

 

Photos by Indian Cricket; Sri Lanka Cricket