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Match Details
Date: 24 February 2022
Time: 7:00 PM IST
Venue: The Atal Bihari Vajpayee cricket stadium, Lucknow
Ball-by-ball Commentary: SportsTiger App
Preview:
India had a terrific run against West Indies as they found solutions to most of the questions before the series started. They would want to continue giving an extended run to some of their youngsters and they have already made their intentions clear by the team they have picked for the series. On the other hand, Sri Lanka managed to get a solitary win against the Australians in the last game of the series. The series will begin on Thursday with the 1st T20I, which both sides will be hoping to win start the series on a positive note. The T20 series will also be a preparatory series for the T20I World Cup that is to be played in Australia later this year.
Pitch Report:
The pitch here gives good assistance to batsmen and teams have scored some scores in excess of 160 here often. The nature of the pitch is likely to remain the same and we could see a high scoring thriller.
Team Analysis:
India:
Despite KL Rahul not being available, India allowed Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant to rest for this series and that speaks volumes about the chances that India wants to provide to their youngsters before the marquee event. After coping with injuries, quality all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has joined the squad and his presence along with India's premium fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will certainly provide an edge to hosts. Bumrah will be leading the pace attack along with Harshal Patel, Md. Siraj and newbie Avesh Khan. As Rohit recently highlighted, conceding too many runs in the middle overs will be one aspect that bowlers will have to work on.
Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka showed plenty of vulnerabilities in their series against Australia but they also did a remarkable job to plug that one by one as the series progressed. The result of their effort was evident in the last match as they toppled the hosts. Having said that, they still have plenty to fix and this series against India can prove to be a better test of their ability and character.
Probable Playing 11’s:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara
Match Prediction:
Conclusion: Considering recent form and India's advantage of home conditions, India will take the guard as hot favourites. The hosts are expected to kick start the series with a comprehensive win.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s personal point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.