Sri Lanka vs India, 1st T20I: Shanaka elects to bowl
After winning the ODIs 2-1, the Indian cricket team will be aiming to start the T20I series on a strong note. India's white-ball specialists need to be at their best against a Lankan side that grew with each ODI game and won the third encounter. The news from Colombo is that Dasun Shanaka has won the toss and elected to field first. Here's more.
Chahal could be the key man for India
As per Cricbuzz, Since the 50-over World Cup in 2019, Yuzvendra Chahal has claimed 16 wickets in 17 T20Is. In the same period, the likes of spinners Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, and Rahul Chahar have a combined tally of 10 wickets in 13 outings. Overall, Chahal has taken 62 T20I wickets from 48 matches at 25.40. He is India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is.
Can Dhawan find his feet?
As per Cricbuzz, Team India senior batter Dhawan has smashed 1,519 runs in 41 IPL matches since the start of the 2019 season. However, the southpaw hasn't been able to replicate that form for Team India. Dhawan has managed just 363 runs in 14 T20Is at an average of 25.92. He has a strike rate of 117.47 as well.
Timing, TV listing, venue and pitch report
The match is set to start at 8:00 PM IST and one can watch the same on the Sony Ten Network, besides streaming it on the SonyLIV app (paid subscription). The match is being played at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. One expects dew to be present after some rain witnessed today. The pitch will assist spinners and batsmen have to be patient.
Here's the team news
India playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wk), Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Yuzvendra Chahal. Sri Lanka playing XI: Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka(c), Ashen Bandara, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Isuru Udana, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera.
