Match Preview – India vs Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka in India 2022/23, 3rd T20I

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The big picture: Sri Lanka eye maiden T20I series win in India

Last time India lost a bilateral T20 series at home in 2019 When Australia beat them 2-0. Since then they are on an 11-series unbeaten streak. But that could change on Saturday.

After holding India to a draw in the first T20, Sri Lanka beat them by 16 runs in the second T20 to make the score 1–1. Sri Lanka’s victory in Rajkot will not only break India’s momentum but also hand the visiting team their first T20I series win in India. in six tries,

Sri Lankan batsmen may not strike fear into the minds of the opposition, but they understand the grammar of the format. During their innings in the second T20I, Sri Lanka had at least one batsman in the middle – Kusal Mendis in the first half and Dasun Shanaka in the second half – attacking the bowlers. They have two of the most skilful spinners in Wanindu Hasaranga and Mahesh Tikshana. If their fast bowlers click like they did in Pune, they can take on any team.

On the other hand, India’s top two orders collapsed in as many games. Deepak Hooda and Akshar Patel defended him in the first T20 and Suryakumar Yadav and Akshar tried to keep him in the game in the second. Apart from this, their entire bowling unit has also not been able to do much. After the first T20I, Hardik Pandya spoke about putting his players in tough situations. As a game of victory, that’s exactly what he’s got.

form guide

India LWTWL (Last five completed T20Is, most recent first)

Sri Lanka WLLWL

Arshdeep Singh and Dasun Shanaka are in limelight

Despite making his T20 debut only six months back, Arshdeep Singh Tej was considered the spearhead of the attack in this new-look Indian squad. He missed the first T20I due to illness, and then bowled five no-balls in two overs, costing India 37 runs. Overstepping has been an old issue with Arshdeep, and now the time has come for him to get it rectified.

Dasun Shanaka Love playing against India. In the opening game, his 27-ball 47 kept Sri Lanka in the contest. On Thursday, he scored the fastest T20I fifty by a Sri Lankan batsman before taking two wickets in the final over of the game to seal the victory. His last five T20 innings against India are 56* (22), 45 (27), 33* (18), 74* (38) and 47* (19). With the ball, he has taken more than half of his T20I wickets against them (14 of 23). If he continues like this, it will not be easy for India to maintain their undefeated streak.

Team News: Will India, Sri Lanka make changes?

After the second T20I, Rahul Dravid said that India did not want to make too many changes unless there was an injury. So expect him to go with an unchanged XI.

India (Probable): 1 Ishan Kishan (wk), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya (c), 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Akshar Patel, 8 Shivam Mavi, 9 Umran Malik, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Sri Lanka may face a selection conundrum. Do they stick to the winning combination, or try to improve it by bringing in Sadera Samarawickrama in place of the out-of-form Bhanuka Rajapaksa? In the recently concluded LPL, Samarawickrama was the second highest run-scorer with 294 runs at an average of 58.80 and a strike rate of 131.25.

Sri Lanka (Probables): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Dhananjaya de Silva, 4 Charit Aslanka, 5 Sadera Samarawickrama/Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 6 Dasun Shanaka (C), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Mahesh Thikshana, 10 Kasun Rajita, 11 Dilshan Madushanka

Pitch and conditions: Run-fest in Rajkot?

The Rajkot pitch is often compared to the nearby National Highway, so be prepared for another run-fest. Teams winning the toss would like to bowl first as the venue favors the chasing team. This evening is expected to be cool with clear skies; The temperature should be around 17 °C.

  • Yuzvendra Chahal (88) needs three wickets to go past Bhuvneshwar Kumar (90) as India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is.

  • Hardik has captained India in seven T20 matches so far. He finished on the losing side for the first time on Thursday.

  • Sri Lanka has never played an international match in Rajkot.

  • In his last ten T20Is, Rajapaksa has scored 137 runs at an average of 15.22 and a strike rate of 115.12.

    • Citation

    “they [Sri Lanka] This series has got a fairly experienced T20I side. Since the World Cup, they haven’t made too many changes in their playing XI. They have got some class players. They’ve got some very good spinners, they’ve got power-hitters at the backend of the game. I think Dasun Shanaka is playing really well. They may have had some tough times but they are definitely not a team you take lightly at any level.”
    head coach of india Rahul Dravid on your opponents

    “It’s not about the secret, it’s always about the right line and length. If I don’t hit the right line and length, they [batters] Will follow me So I always try to focus on that while bowling. That’s why I am doing consistently well in this format.
    Mahesh Tikshana Reveals the method behind his mystery spin

    Hemant Brar is the Deputy Editor at ESPNcricinfo



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