After a reasonably long hiatus from international cricket, Team India will face Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series starting today. The Men in Blue will be hoping for an outcome similar to the during their last two meets against Mahela Jayawardene's team.

The two teams last clashed in the Asia Cup where India succeeded in thrashing  the Sri Lankans by 50 runs. This match followed India's triumph over the island nation in their final group game of the CB Series in Australia. 

As such, it looks like Team India is intent on making this a hattrick and they certainly have everything they need to make this happen should they not get too complacent. After all, they do seem to have a well-balanced--albeit Sachin Tendulkar-less--squad at their disposal.

With the combination of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli, this team boasts a great top order. This trio is powerful enough to ensure that Tendulkar is not missed too sorely. 

Of course, the Men in Blue will have to look out for wild cards like Sri Lanka's Isuru Udana, a left-arm fast bowler, who has picked up an impressive amount of wickets this season. Apart from him, the usual suspects like Lasith Malinga could also turn things around for the hosts.

Still, at the end of the day, India's finally had a significant break between tournaments and subsequent international series, which ensures that injury-prone players like Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag have had sufficient time to rest and recover. So the team should ideally be kicking in high gear during this series.

The odds are clearly in India's favor, but we think this one may go down to the wire! Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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