IND vs SL: 3rd T20I Preview

India eyes series whitewash!

It was 11th consecutive T20I win for the men in blue as they made a mockery of visitor's target of 183 by chasing it with 17 balls to spare in the penultimate game of the series at Dharamsala. India now have won 11 out of their last 12 series. And the one they lost in Sri Lanka last year was due to COVID attack in the camp where they had to field a team with just 4 batters. Rohit recorded a new feat of winning the most home T20Is as captain. This was also the 11th consecutive win at home under the new management and leadership. With one T20I and 2 Tests left, India will make every effort to make it 14-0.

Put into bat, Sri Lanka yet again registered a slow start in Powerplay with Gunathilaka and Nissanka having no clue against Bhuvi and Bumrah. The flood gates opened as they targeted Harshal, Chahal and Jadeja from 5-8 over period eventually ending the innings with 72 runs in the last 4 overs.
Gunathilaka departed after taking down 16 runs in first 3 balls of Jadeja's 2nd and Chahal sent the dangerous Asalanka back in the next over.
One major issue is Sri Lanka's number 3-6 batters. In last 7 games, they have tried 8 batters in these positions and their best batsman is skipper Shanaka with 166 runs at a SR of 127. Apart from him, the rest of the batsmen have faced 265 deliveries but have hit only 7 sixes. In a combined 28 innings, SL have scored only 1 fifty and that came through Asalanka's bat in the last game.

India had a shaky start with both the openers gone early. Ishan was hit on the head by Lahiru Kumara and was taken to ICU ward as a precautionery measure after the game. Shreyas Iyer started from where he left in Lucknow and blasted his way to a match winning 74. He was well assisted by Sanju Samson in a 84 run partnership. The Royals skipper started off slowly with a 19 ball 17 but covered it by smashing 3 sixes and a boundary off Kumara's over. Jadeja was once again promoted at 5 and like Shreyas, he made his intentions clear right from ball 1 with well controlled drives and pull shots as he broke the chase with his 45 off just 18 balls.

SL bowlers rushed Indian batters with pace at Dharamsala. Conditions assisting and series in the bag, it wouldn't hurt to field both Mohammad Siraj and Avesh Khan in the starting lineup. Avesh was the 2nd highest wicket-taker in the last season of IPL with 24 scalps to his name. SIraj picked 11 wickets at an impressive economy of 6.78. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, would look to bring in wicketkeeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella in place of Chandimal.

Probable XI

Sri Lanka: Niroshan Dickwella, Pathum Nissanka, Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Kamil Mishara, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera,  Binura Fernando Lahiru Kumara, Praveen Jayawickrama

India: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Avesh Khan, Mohammad Siraj/Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch & Weather 

Little to no chances of rain spoiling the party of India's victory run. This venue is one of the most high-scoring venues in India and expect a run-fest.

Head to Head

Overall: India leads 16-7
Last 10 matches: India leads 7-3
In India: India leads 10-2
Under Rohit's Captaincy: India leads 6-1

Match Ups

India

• Rohit vs Chameera : 32 runs off 26 balls with 5 dismissals
• Shreyas vs Karunaratne : 32 runs off 15 balls with no dismissals
• Shreyas vs Chameera : 41 runs off 24 balls with no dismissals
• Shreyas vs Kumara : 14 runs off 13 balls with 1 dismissal
• Jadeja vs Chameera : 26 runs off 13 balls with no dismissals

Sri Lanka

• Nissanka vs Bhuvi : 14 runs off 12 balls with 2 dismissals
• Gunathilaka vs Bumrah : 9 runs off 26 balls with 1 dismissal
• Chandimal vs Jadeja : 28 runs off 27 balls with 2 dismissals
• Shanaka vs Chahal : 17 runs off 25 balls with 2 dismissals
• Shanaka vs Jadeja : 9 runs off 21 balls with 1 dismissal
• Shanaka vs Harshal : 30 runs off 9 balls with no dismissals

 Form Update

Key Players

India

Sanju Samson: The national team doors seemed to be closed for Sanju but with injuries and some players being rested, it has once again given him a huge opportunity to stamp his authority at the international level. The Rajasthan Royals skipper racked up 484 runs at an SR of 136 in 2021 IPL. Skipper Rohit Sharma had a lot to say about Sanju in the press conference prior to the series which clearly indicates he is in India's plans for the World Cup. He scored 39(25) in 2nd T20I after a slow start where he took time to get going.

Shreyas Iyer: Shreyas Iyer has scored 632 runs at strike rate of 148 while averaging almost 40 since Nov 2019 in T20Is.
He has contributed in every series since then except for the West Indies 2019 series. He has the 5th best strike rate in this period for a minimum of 600 runs. These are brilliant numbers for a middle order batsman irrespective of the opposition.

Yuzvendra Chahal: Since his comeback in the T20I side, Chahal has picked up 5 wickets in 5 games at an economy of 6.78. And an economy of 5.43 is the best among the bowlers after the 2 T20Is in this series. Everytime when it seems the opposition are running away with the game, Chahal comes in and provides the much needed breakthrough. He may sit out to make way for another young sensation Ravi Bishnoi.

Sri Lanka

Pathum Nissanka: He starts at run-a-ball and fails to accelerate as the innings progresses. A career strike rate of 119 after 19 innings is a testimony to his style of play. Nissanka was the glue in SL's batting when he registered his second 70+ score in past 2 weeks. Nobody in T20I cricket has Top-scored more than him in the 10 most recent innings. Asalanka is another batter Sri Lanka will heavily rely on in the middle order. He has scored a quickfire 44 and a 53 against India in his last 2 out of 3 encounters. With Dickwella at the top, Nissanka's job might just get easier.

Lahiru Kumara: Lahiru made his mark in his comeback game against Australia in the 4th T20I where he troubled the Aussie batters with his pace and gave away only 22 runs with 2 crucial wickets. He has 7 wickets in his last 4 T20Is. The trio of Chameera-Binura-Kumara is Sri Lanka's best bet against the hosts in absence of their frontline spinners. 

Dasun Shanka: Sri Lanka lack firepower in the end overs and the onus will be once again on the duo of Chamika and Shanaka. The skipper took on one of the best and experienced bowling attacks as he smashed 47 in just 19 deliveries. Chamika is also handy when it comes to using the long handle. In his last ODI series against India, he smased 90 runs at a strike rate of 115 in the end overs.

Trivia

• Nissanka has 5 Top-scores for SL in last 10 T20Is (joint-most overall)
• Jadeja has 8 unbeaten innings in his last 11 T20I outings at SR 154
• Rohit is the first Indian batsman with 3 consecutive 'Bowled' dismissal in T20Is
• Chameera has dismissed Rohit on most occasions in T20Is (5)
• Rohit has most home Wins as Captain in T20Is
   

Fantasy XI