Ind v SL 3rd T20I Preview: Series win in sight for India at Vizag

The shocking defeat at Pune was trivialized by team India in the 2nd T20I where they showcased their batting muscle power to completely shellac Sri Lanka at the dusty JSCA Stadium, Ranchi. Dhawan and Rohit bruised them early on and set the team on course of a big total. Suresh Raina and Hardik Pandya capitalised on the advantage provided by the openers to post a difficult target for the Lankans to chase. The bowlers did their part commendably and ensured that the series gets levelled.

The ACA-VDCA Stadium at Vizag is all set to host the series decider. India will look to continue the momentum and seal off their second successive T20 series. Whereas, Sri Lanka will try to adapt to the slow conditions and hope to land a surprising knockout just like they did in the Pune T20I. Both the teams will be keen to end it on a winning note and go into with Asia Cup and World T20 high on confidence.

India:

MS Dhoni in all likelihood will stick with the winning team which outclassed the visitors in the last contest. It was a positive game for them as all departments did their job. The batsmen were terrific while the bowlers were in complete control. The openers made batting look easy. MS Dhoni changed the strategy by sending Hardik Pandya ahead of himself and Yuvraj, giving the youngster exposure to batting in the death overs. The trick worked as Pandya along with Raina gave the final push to the scoreboard, taking India to a big total.

Ajinkya Rahane failed with the bat which may tempt some to suggest replacing him with Manish Pandey. But, that’s highly unlikely to happen. Dhoni used the spinning conditions to great effect and completely controlled the second innings. His trump card Ashwin stood to his reputation while both Nehra and Bumrah did extremely well.

Sri Lanka:

The Sri Lankan pace trio of Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera and Dasun Shanaka had wreaked havoc in Pune but were hammered effortlessly at Ranchi by the Indians. Logically, the visiting bowlers are unlikely to get any respite in the coming match too. So, it would be better Chandimal to come up with an idea to use his pacers more effectively. Spinners have to come into play to make full use of the slow track but neither Senanayake nor Prasanna could live up to their reputation. Their performance will be a vital deciding factor tomorrow.

If bowling was dismal then their batting was a bigger disappointment. Sri Lanka would hope that their batsmen do better, especially Tillakaratne Dilshan, who is the most experienced in the squad. It can be clearly understood that the Lankans succumbed to the pressure of chasing a huge total.

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:

Both teams will be welcomed with cool, pleasant breeze from the hills tomorrow. ACA-VDCA Stadium has one of the best batting strips in the country and the game will be a high-scoring one for sure.