Team India has played five T20I series in 2017 and had won three of them, suffered a loss in one and draw another. They have not been able to replicate their dominance in the shortest format as they have lost at least one match in a series. However, Sri Lanka may not be that difficult a team.
The men in blue will be well aware of the that the form of a player doesn’t matter in this format and they will try to put no foot wrong. The first T20I of the three-match series against Sri Lanka will be played at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack and India will like to begin the series on a different note than their ODI series in which they were humiliated in the series opener.
India has the batsmen in form and the bowlers are also likely to play a crucial role. The Islanders, led by Thisara Pehas, will look to challenge a comparatively young Indian team in the shortest format of the game. However, they need to put a break on the powerful Indian batting order from exploding again.
Without the services of veteran Lasith Malinga, the Lankans’ bowling attack will be looking a less attacking as the selectors are having faith in youngsters like Vishwa Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, and Nuwan Pradeep. Angelo Mathews, in particular, has batted well on this tour and this will instill the much-needed confidence among the youngsters in the team.
India might try to go in with three seamers in the form of Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj. However, if they do opt for experimentation then Basil Thampi and Jaydev Unadkat might get a match. Thampi and Unadkat earned a call-up with their brilliant performances in the IPL.
Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal’s spell in third ODI also reassures that why the duo should lead the spin attack. But if the Indian team might try out the option of young Washington Sundar or Deepak Hooda in order to make their batting even more deeper. Shreyas Iyer will continue to enjoy a longer run in T20Is after his consecutive half-centuries in ODIs. Manish Pandey or Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni will complete the remaining batting order.
In what will be the first T20 international match at the Barabati stadium since 2015, the pitch conditions are difficult to predict. In the last T20 at Cuttack, South Africa dismissed India for 92 as crowd interrupted play twice.
Probable XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey/Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar/ Basil Thampi, Y Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat.
Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Asela Gunaratne, Dasun Shanaka, Thisara Perera (C), Sachith Pathirana, Akila Dananjaya, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando
