Preview:
India and Sri Lanka will play the first T20I of the three-match series on Thursday. India would walk into this series after defeating West Indies in the T20I series. The Indian team would be without a few key players in this series who were a part of the team during the series against West Indies.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, suffered a 4-1 loss in a T20I series against Sri Lanka. They did win the last T20I of the series but would need a new strategy against India. Sri Lanka would be without Wanindu Hasaranga in this series and it would be a massive void.
Match Details:
India vs Sri Lanka, 1st T20I
Venue: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Date & Time: 24th February at 07:00 PM IST and Local Time
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar
IND vs SRI, 1st T20I Pitch Report:
India last played a T20I game at this ground in November 2018 against West Indies. The ground has hosted a total of four T20Is and the last one was played in November 2019. The team batting first has won all these four games and we might witness a similar outcome in this game.
Injury News:
India – Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Chahar sustained injuries during the series against West Indies and have been ruled out of this entire series.
Sri Lanka – Wanindu Hasaranga has tested positive for Covid again and has been ruled out of this series.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma throws light on workload management
IND vs SRI, 1st T20I Probable Playing XIs:
India
Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rohit Sharma (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Hooda / Sanju Samson, Bhuveshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Sri Lanka
Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dusmantha Chameera, Chamika Karunaratne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara
Top Picks for IND vs SRI 11Wickets Fantasy Cricket:
Venkatesh Iyer played a vital role for the Indian team in the recently completed T20I Series against West Indies. Iyer made 93 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 184 and managed to pick two wickets as well.
Harshal Patel finished as the leading wicket-taker for India in the T20I series against West Indies. He picked five wickets in three games at an average of 21, an economy of 8.75, and a strike rate of 14.40.
Pathum Nissanka played a crucial role for Sri Lanka in the T20I series against Australia. Although, Sri Lanka was able to win only a single game out of the five matches, he was the pick of the Sri Lankan batters. Nissanka made 184 runs in five T20Is at an average of 36.80 and a strike rate of 115.72.
Suggested Playing XI No.1 for IND vs SRI 11Wickets Fantasy Cricket:
Ishan Kishan (c), Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nisaanka, Rohit Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Chamika Karunaratne, Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Venkatesh Iyer, Jaspreet Bumrah, Maheesh Theekshana, Yuzvendra Chahal
Suggested Playing XI No.2 for IND vs SRI 11Wickets Fantasy Cricket:
Ishan Kishan, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nisaanka, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer (c), Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Venkatesh Iyer, Dushmantha Chameera, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah (vc)
Captain and Vice-Captain Options:
Captain Options: Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer
Vice-Captain Options: Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah
