India and Sri Lanka will met in the second T20I of the series in Colombo. After winning the ODI series, India would look to clinch another T20I series.
Match Timings: July 27, 8 PM IST
Match Preview
India and Sri Lanka will battle out again in Colombo for the second T20I game of the series. India started things very well by beating Sri Lanka in opening game with ease. India made few changes from the ODI XI. Samson and Ishan Kishan played together. Suryakumar Yadav scored a fine half-century for India when Sri Lankan players were putting pressure on middle-overs. India struggled a little bit in death overs which is a big concern.
Sri Lanka looked good in the middle phase of the chase when they were three down on 90. After the wicket of Bandara, Sri Lanka collapsed badly to bundle out on 126. Chahal was the star with conceding just 19 in his spell with one wicket, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked a 4-wicket haul which is good thing happened for India’s perspectives.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka can look for few positives from the defeat. They created same number of mistakes. They put pressure on India in middle-overs like Chameera bowled a fine spell. Combination of pace and spin did well. When Surya was batting, it was like India is getting 180 but Sri Lanka managed to hold them on 164. Batting was also going very well but they couldn’t handle the pressure. Asalanka scored 44 off 26 balls and he didn’t get support from another end. Sri Lanka won just one game out of their last 10 matches and their poor number continues.
India will surely play with their main strength. Shaw and SKY might not play due to their inclusion in England series. Padikkal and Dhawan might open, followed by Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. Nitish Rana and Hardik Pandya will take charge in middle-order. Rahul Chahar might replace Varun Chakravarthy. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will trust on their previous XI with a rare change.
It’s a do-die game for the hosts. Sri Lanka were beaten by West Indies and England with winning just one game out of six. India defeated strong sides, New Zealand, Australia and England in T20I series in past 18 months. India lost only three games out of 14 matches since 2020 which shows their dominance. Sri Lanka should comeback in this game.
Pitch Report
Colombo’s surface is a pure batting surface and we might expect bit of spin in this game. It’s a fifth game on same surface and pitch is getting slower. It should be a 180 plus total on this track and it’s a safe score. Chasing would be tricky on this surface.
Possible XI
India
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Nitish Rana, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar
Sri Lanka
Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama
Key Players
India
Shikhar Dhawan
Having a top form in T20s, top-scorer in Indian T20 League 2021
Yuzvendra Chahal
A quality spinner and would be impactful on a surface like Colombo
Sri Lanka
Wanindu Hasaranga
A handy allrounder, might be crucial in middle-overs with his spin
Akila Dhananjaya
A quality spinner, would be promising good with his spin
