Ind v SL 2nd T20I Preview: India look to reassert their domination at home

The T20 series was meant to be an easy walk in the park for India, especially after whitewashing Australia Down Under. It was anticipated that there would be very less chance of any contest between both the teams with Sri Lanka coming with a bunch of freshers in their squad.

However, the scenes at the MCA stadium, Pune were completely contrasting. The Indians could not handle the heat of the Sri Lanka pacers and were toppled on lively green deck. Sri Lanka started their tour with an emphatic victory while India had a rude awakening ahead of two important events which are approaching fast.

Indians head to the JSCA Stadium at Ranchi for the second game and will definitely hit back stronger. It’s highly unlikely that there would be any ‘English like conditions’ there. MS Dhoni & Co. has to win this game in order to keep the series alive. Local boy MS Dhoni would want his boys to put a good show in front of his home crowd.

India:

The Indian batting line-up was a letdown last match. In the absence of the Virat Kohli, all eyes were set on Rohit Sharma. But, he succumbed to freshman Rajitha. Dhawan and Rahane also were stunned by the skinny pacer and did not perform. However, all of these star batsmen, who had a fruitful series Down Under, are in form and would seek revenge from the Lankan Lions. Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh were also ordinary and need to perform. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will also have to deliver with their all-round performances. The batsmen look forward to bringing their magic in the 2nd game.

Bowlers doesn’t seem to have any problem and did a wonderful job. Ashish Nehra and Ravichandran Ashwin kept the game interesting by taking wickets often while other were also economical. As far as the team combination goes, no changes are anticipated from our skipper and the team combination is likely to be same.

Sri Lanka:

Sri Lanka would be on a high. They almost played with a second string team and still beat India hands down. The youngsters, selected on the basis of their recent domestic exploits, proved their potentials by shocking the Indians. Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera and Dasun Shanaka were outstanding and reaped the benefits of the helpful track. However, the playing conditions would be very different at Ranchi. It will challenge their abilities and ask them to adapt. Sachithra Senanayake and Seekuge Prasanna, who had little role to play in the first game will be key factors tomorrow as pitch is expected to offer spinners help.

To be frank, the Lankan batsmen weren’t impressive. In spite of a bleak target they had begun to crumble once Ashwin started to make inroads. However, the task was simple and they managed to win. The return of Dilshan will surely be an advantage. Niroshan Dickwella makes way for him. But the batters still have to raise the bar if they aim to stay level with the quality Indian bowling attack, especially the spinners.

Probable XI:

India:

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (C & wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra

Sri Lanka:

Tillakaratne Dilshan, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dinesh Chandimal (C & wk), Milinda Siriwardana, Dasun Shanaka, Thisara Perera, Chamara Kapugedera, Seekuge Prasanna, Dilhara Fernando, Sachithra Senanayake, Dushmantha Chameera

Weather and Pitch conditions:

The weather will remain cool and cloudy. The pitch will be typical in nature – slower and easy to bat with spinner getting generous help.

Stats and Trivia:

• India beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets when they last met each other at this venue in 2014.
• Yuvraj Singh has scored 993 runs, and needs 7 more to achieve the 1,000 runs milestone.
• In 15 T20s at the helm, Dinesh Chandimal averages 12 and has a strike rate of 90. His 35 on Tuesday was his highest score as captain.
• India’s home win-loss ratio is 0.625 – worse than all the full member teams apart from Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
• Sri Lanka have the highest away win-loss ratio, with 13 victories from 17 away games.