India and Sri Lanka will battle out in the decider game of the T20I series tonight. It will be a back-to-back game for both sides.
Match Timings: July 29, 8 PM IST
Match Preview
India will take on Sri Lanka for the final time on this tour in the third T20I of the series. Sri Lanka clinched a thriller last night to level the series and it will be a decider tonight. The inexperienced Indian side failed to deliver but they added a tough fight till the end while defending a modest total. India made so many changes in the XI and they are likely to play with a similar XI because other players are in isolation after having contact with Krunal Pandya. India struggled a little bit in middle-overs and lack of experience hurt their batting. India played with 6 bowlers and last night, Navdeep also got injured. It will be interesting to see how India finds 11 players for this game.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka managed to take the game, thanks to a good partnership from De Silva and Chameera. They held the nerves when the Indian spinner took away the game from them in the middle-overs. Sri Lanka still needs to boost their game. They will appear in the qualifier of T20 WC and a playing attitude like this will surely give them a big headache. They put pressure on India’s batting lineup but they should not forget, few players even made their debut last night. It was Sri Lanka’s second win out of their last 11 matches and they would look to win a series this time which might be a big thing for them. India has lost only four games out of 15 since 2020 and this time, the series will be at stake. The batting order might be changed and Samson should come at number three.
Pitch Report
Colombo’s surface is a hardcore spin surface after back-to-back matches. The pitch is getting slower day by day. Batting first would be an ideal option after winning the toss. It should be a 150 plus total on this track and it’s a safe score.
Possible XI
India
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (wk), Nitish Rana, Navdeep Saini, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakariya
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, only experienced guy in the team
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Impactful with the new ball, would be key with the bat as well
Sri Lanka
Wanindu Hasaranga
A quality all rounder and his spell will be crucial
Akila Dhananjaya
Would be promising good with his spin on this surface
