It is good news for all the cricket fans as one of the most followed cricket teams will make a comeback after a long break from international cricket. India’s last international match was a rain affected one-off T20 match against South Africa, right before the Indian Premier League.

India and Sri Lanka will kick-off the five-match one-day series on Saturday at Hambantota and it is a very important for both the teams, as these they will be the prime contenders to lift the T20 World Cup trophy which will be played in similar conditions.

First match is very crucial in all the series as it sets the tone for the rest of the tournament. The match will be more important for the visitors as India have really struggled at the international level off-late. Indian captain MS Dhoni has already accepted the fact that how important it is to have a good start in the series.

Dhoni on the new venue said, “It's a new venue and conditions change in the afternoon. It's quite windy out here. The strong winds can be a factor. Not only the bowlers, but the batsmen and the fielders also need to get used to the conditions. This is a big field. So the fielders will have to see that batsmen do not make twos into threes which is quite normal in a one-day game.”

Sri Lanka on the other hand have been playing some good cricket as they beat Pakistan in both the one-day and Test series and will be fancying their chances against the Indians.

There is one more incentive for the Indian team going into this series as they have the chance to leap from its current fourth place standing to its previous number one position in the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings. India last held the number one position briefly in September 2009 but if it achieves a clean sweep against the hosts, MS Dhoni’s side will unseat current table-toppers Australia. 

No team will go into the match as the favorites as both the teams look balanced and have some world class performers in their ranks. These two teams like playing in the sub-continent and are very effective on these pitches.

Sri Lanka might have a bit of an edge as they have had good match practice coming into the series and it is a fact that Indians have always been a slow starter. But Dhoni believes that the rest will help Indians as all of them are fit and are relaxed.

All in all it will be a cracker of a series and one just can’t wait to see the ‘men in blue’ take the field as that is the place where we love them the most.

By Indian Sports News Network