IND vs SL, 1st T20I: Preview, stats, and Fantasy XI
What's the story
India will lock horns with Sri Lanka in the opening T20I match of the three-match series on Thursday.
India will come into this series after blanking West Indies in both the ODIs and T20Is respectively.
SL lost their most recent T20I series to Australia 1-4.
Ahead of the first T20I, we present the complete match preview.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The T20I series is like an audition for both sides.
The idea is to test players and get the desired balance.
The two teams also endured contrasting results during their recent outings and it will be interesting to see how things pan out.
A positive start is what both sides will be aiming to achieve.
Both sides are without some key players.
India
Team India is in red-hot form
India were in red-hot form against the WI.
Suryakumar Yadav (107 runs in 3 games) and Venkatesh Iyer (92 runs in 3 games) starred for India during the T20I series.
With the ball, Harshal Patel and Ravi Bishnoi were terrific.
India will be hoping to find a similar approach against the Lankans and play competitive cricket.
They start as the favorites.
Out
Deepak Chahar and Suryakumar Yadav ruled out
Deepak Chahar and Suryakumar have been ruled out from the T20Is with respective injuries.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been rested.
However, the returning duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah will bolster the side.
It will be interesting to see if Ruturaj Gaikwad opens the batting alongside Rohit.
He will want to impress the selectors.
Hasaranga
Wanindu Hasaranga to miss the T20I series
In a big blow to the Sri Lanka squad, their highest-ranked T20I bowler Wanindu Hasaranga is set to miss the T20I series against India after testing positive for COVID-19 for the second time.
He claimed five wickets in two games against Australia before testing positive.
Opener Pathum Nissanka will be crucial for them upfront.
Kusal Mendis and Dasun Shanaka need to shoulder the responsibility.
Details
Pitch report, timing and TV listing
The Ekana Stadium has hosted four T20Is so far.
The pitch here is known for supporting spinners.
Dew could be a major factor.
The average 1st innings score here is 151 while the average second innings score is 128.
The match will start at 7:00 PM.
One can watch the match live on Star Sports Network and stream the same on the Hotstar app.
Probable XI
Probable playing XI of both the sides
India possible XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Sri Lanka possible XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dasun Shanaka (c), Janith Liyanage, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando
Do you know?
Decoding the best Dream11 team
Here is the Dream XI team prediction for this game: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma, Pathum Nissanka (vc), Venkatesh Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Janith Liyanage, Jasprit Bumrah, Dushmantha Chameera, Harshal Patel
Information
Here's the H2H record
The two teams have faced each other on 22 occasions in T20Is to date. India have won 14 matches. Sri Lanka have pocketed seven matches. One match didn't have a result. Notably, Sri Lanka have won the last two T20Is versus India.