The Men in Blue put on a complete show on Saturday, with Suryakumar leading the way with a scorching 26-ball 58. Suryakumar’s tenure as the permanent T20I skipper began spectacularly, but he won’t have much time to rejoice because India will play the hosts again on Sunday.
In the opening Twenty20 International, India defeated Sri Lanka by a commanding 43 runs to start the new Gautam Gambhir-Suryakumar Yadav era.
India, chosen to bat first by Charith Asalanke, put on a spectacular display with the bat, smashing 213/7. They lost one specialist bowler in the lineup and struggled with the ball in the first half of the innings, but they turned things around in the final ten overs to win handily and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
In the interim, the Men in Blue may alter their lineup to create room for an additional bowling alternative. Despite a lacklustre performance at the bat, Riyan Parag may have made a compelling case for himself with three wickets. However, after being given the opportunity to bat in the last over of the innings, Rinku Singh should not be left out of the starting XI.
However, because they are also dealing with fitness issues within their camp, Sri Lanka may stick with the starting lineup from the opening Twenty20 international.
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The hosts had a solid foundation for the chase thanks to Kusal Mendis (45 off 27 balls) and Pathum Nissanka (79 off 47 balls), but they were unable to build on it. After a dull opening fifteen overs, the Indian bowlers controlled the last quarter of the encounter, claiming eight wickets for only twenty-one runs as Sri Lanka fell from 149 for 2. They have to assess what went wrong for them on Saturday as soon as possible.
India Probable Playing XI: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Riyan Parag, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
Sri Lanka Probable Playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (c), Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka
India
