Sri Lanka vs India, T20Is: Pallekele Stadium report and stats
The Pallekele International Cricket Stadium will host the entirety of the three-match T20I series between Sri Lanka and India, starting July 27. The series will mark the start of a new era in Indian cricket as Suryakumar Yadav is the newly-elected T20I skipper. Meanwhile, SL would want to excel at home. Here we decode the pitch report and key stats of the Pallekele Stadium.
A look at the track conditions
As the track in Pallekele is usually on the slower side, spinners can get substantial assistance. However, pacers can also inflict some damage with the new ball. Batters showing application would be awarded with runs. With the game getting underway at 7:00pm IST, the dew factor can play a major role. Hence, the toss-winning skipper is likely to elect bowling first.
Here are the stadium stats
As per Cricbuzz, chasing teams have won 12 of the 23 T20Is here (Average first innings score: 168). 263/3 by Australia in 2016 is the highest team score here. Pakistan own the highest successful chase at this venue, 176 versus Bangladesh in 2012. Meanwhile, the lowest team score in Pallekele belongs to New Zealand. They were folded for 88 against SL in 2019.
Decoding India and Sri Lanka's numbers
SL have won nine of their 17 T20Is at this venue (NR:1). The tally includes six defeats and a tied game against NZ in 2012, which they won in the Super Over. Meanwhile, India defeated Sri Lanka by 39 runs in their only previous T20I outing in Pallekele. As per ESPNcricinfo, spinners (7.27) have a better economy than pacers (8.18) here in T20 cricket.
