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Dambulla (Sri Lanka): The 3-2 win last year fresh in mind, India will seek to maintain their supremacy while revenge will be on top of Sri Lanka’s mind when the neighbours square off in the first ODI of the five-match Cricket series in Dambulla on Wednesday.

Under the charismatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India have been in ominous form in both forms of the game and the 5-0 whitewash against England in the ODI series at home gives a fair indication of the side’s might. In contrast, Sri Lanka have not been as convincing.

Under their off-colour skipper Mahela Jayawardene, the islanders struggled against minnows Zimbabwe and lost to Bangladesh in a recent tri-series in Dhaka.

Things looked better in the hastily arranged three-match ODI series in Pakistan where they lost the series opener before eventually clinching the series with back-to-back wins.

Despite holding a slight edge over the hosts, the lone worry for Dhoni remains the spin attack which sports an inexperienced look in the absence of injured off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Hyderabad left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who has played just five ODIs so far, would spearhead the spin attack, while uncapped Saurashtra all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja would also be expected to chip in.Dhoni himself realises what it means not to have Harbhajan in the ranks but reckons he can always fall back on the part-time options he has in Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh.

“Harbhajan has been our pick of the spinners for some time. Whether you are bowling first or second or bowling in powerplays, he is the person,” Dhoni said.

“But we have two spinners in the side, Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja. I think they will try to fill in the space left by Harbhajan’s absence. Of course we have part-timers also who have done well. It is an opportunity for both the spinners to prove themselves,” he added.

Otherwise, there apparently is no chink in the Indian armour but Dhoni insists it would be fatal to lower the guard, especially playing Sri Lanka at their den.

“It will be a tough series. It is tough to beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka though we had defeated them the last time around,” Dhoni said.

For Jayawardene, the key is to stick to the winning ways. “Our strategy will be to try and continue the winning momentum. It is going to be a tough series and we look forward to the challenge,” he said.

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