Asia Cup 2022: Super Four, Match 3 - Predicted India Playing XI vs Sri Lanka

India suffered a heartbreaking loss against eternal rivals Pakistan in a tightly-contested run-fest in Dubai on Sunday. It will be a wake-up call for the seven-time winners of the competition, who have had an indifferent tournament so far.

Rohit Sharma's side will now have to win the two remaining Super 4 matches if they are to make it through the finals on Sunday, where they are likely to face arch-rivals Pakistan for the third time in the tournament. But for India, there are no easy games as they square off against Sri Lanka in their next assignment in the Asia Cup.

The five-time champions are one of the dark horses of the tournament and are looking increasingly dangerous with each passing game. It will be interesting to see how the Indian team reacts after Rohit Sharma's first loss as a skipper in the Asia Cup.

Here’s a look at India’s predicted XI against Sri Lanka

Openers - Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma looked in supreme touch  against Pakistan, taking the attack to the opposition bowlers in the powerplay. He played some trademark pull shots in a blistering knock of 28 runs off 16 deliveries. A big innings is due from the Indian opener and it feels like it is just around the corner.

Another Indian batter who regained form in the clash against arch-rivals Pakistan is Rohit's opening partner KL Rahul. The duo shared a breathtaking opening partnership with the Karnataka man playing some delightful shots to mark his return to form.

Middle Order - Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and Dinesh Karthik (wk)

Virat Kohli registered his 32nd half-century in T20Is in the Super 4 game against Pakistan, the most by any batter in the format. The batting ace is slowly getting back to his best as he recorded his second consecutive fifty of the tournament, getting increasingly fluent with each innings.

Suryakumar Yadav had a rare off night on Sunday as he failed to add much to the team's tally on a batting-friendly wicket in Dubai. The trailblazing batter has been India's finest in the shortest format of the game since the turn of the year and would like to continue in the same form against Sri Lanka.

Rishabh Pant was picked over Dinesh Karthik in the game against Pakistan but came under scrutiny for his needless shot at a crucial juncture. The wicketkeeper-batter is likely to regain his place in the squad ahead of Pant in the upcoming match.

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel

Much like Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya also had a rare off night in the first Super 4 clash, as he was dismissed for a two-ball duck and haemorrhaged runs in the second innings. The flamboyant all-rounder has been India's most important player in white-ball cricket in recent times, and the team will hope it was just a rare blip and nothing more.

Axar Patel is the like-for-like replacement for the injured Ravindra Jadeja, who has been ruled out of the tournament. The left-arm spinner showcased his batting prowess in the series against the West Indies and can be a key player with his all-round abilities on the field.

Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh

Veteran Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's penultimate over, which yielded 19 runs, was the last nail in the coffin for India as Pakistan needed just seven off the last over after that. Bhuvneshwar has been India's best bowler in the sub-continental tournament so far and will hope to bounce back in the game against the five-time champions on Tuesday.

Yuzvendra Chahal failed to stifle the run-flow and conceded an unimpressive 43 runs in his four overs. The leggie has not had the greatest of the tournament so far but will be looking to make amends against the islanders. Meanwhile, Avesh Khan missed the previous encounter due to illness in the lead-up to the match. But the pacer is likely to feature in the Indian starting XI in the upcoming game after recovering from his illness.

Arshdeep Singh is the talk of the town albeit for the wrong reasons. The 23-year-old dropped a sitter in the pivotal phase of the game against Pakistan, which proved to be costly eventually. Even after the dropped chance, the young pacer showed tremendous character bowling an exceptional final over, only to end up on the losing side.