CUTTACK: Rohit Sharma-led India are unlikely to lower their
guard as face Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 International here on
Wednesday.
Having bagged the Test and ODI series, India
will aim for another dominant performance and look to clinch the
three-game T20 series as well.
Without the services of
skipper Virat Kohli, India did not have a dream start to their ODI
series campaign at Dharamsala but bounced back in style as stand-in
skipper Sharma took the attack to the opposition with his fearless
batting. Having scored a record third double century in ODI, he will eye
to seal off the T20 series as well.
Like their home
series, Sri Lanka have by and large been outgunned by India, barring
their lone brilliant bowling performance in the Dharamsala ODI, which
left the Indian batsmen widely exposed in seaming conditions.
Sri Lanka had their best chance in the last ODI at Vizag but they collapsed from 136-1 to be bundled out for 215.
A
resilient India quickly got into the act after an inspirational
stumping by M.S. Dhoni. After which, the new spin duo of Yuzvendra
Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav ran through the Lankan middle-order as they
claimed three wickets each.
However, T20 is a different
ball game and India would look for a smooth transition to the shortest
format, having endured a batting disaster in the first ODI.
India
do not have a happy memory of the solitary T20 at the Barabati Stadium.
The hosts had folded for 92 against South Africa in 2015 as crowd
trouble brought infamy to the venue.
India lead Sri Lanka
7-4 on head-to-head count and are yet to lose against them in the last
four outings, the hosts will aim to give a better account of their
batting.
India’s batting will heavily rely on skipper Rohit, who will have KL Rahul for company at the top.
Having lost his first match as captain, Rohit’s record
double hundred led a 141-run rout in Mohali and he will look to continue
that form in the shortest format.
A good start will be crucial for India to minimise the workload on the middle and lower order, which will be steered by Dhoni.
The
T20 squad will also see different players in action. Saurashtra
left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat, who last played in a T20 against Zimbabwe
in June last year, has been recalled and India have three first-timers
in Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Deepak Hooda.
Squads:
INDIA:
Rohit Sharma (captain), K.L. Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh
Karthik, M.S. Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra
Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj,
Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat
SRI LANKA: Thisara Perera
(captain), Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Janith Perera, Danushka
Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunaratne, Sadeera
Samarawickrama, Dasun Shanaka, Chaturanga de Silva, Sachith Pathirana,
Dananjaya De Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Dusmantha Chameera.
