Sri Lanka tour of India

IND vs SL, 3rd T20I

Preview

India will take on Sri Lanka in the series' third and final T20I match. This match is scheduled to take place on 07th January, Saturday at 07:00 pm IST Live from Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium(SCA), Rajkot.

Both teams are tied at 1-1 in the 3-match T20I series after Sri Lanka won the second match against the Hosts by 16 runs on Thursday in Pune.  Team India’s top order shattered in a bundle against Sri Lanka in the last match, with number one T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav being the only half-centurion with his 51-run knock in the 2nd T20I from the top order. Kishan, Gill and Pandya haven't been able to contribute significantly. The right-handed all-rounder Hooda scored a fifty in the first T20I batting lower down the order while the left-handed batter Axar Patel smashed 65 runs off 31 balls that included 3 fours & 6 sixes in the 2nd T20I, but that came in a losing cause for the team India.

While the bowling remains disappointing for the team India in this fixture, Indian bowlers leaked many runs in the 2nd T20I. The left-arm tall fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, who missed the 1st T20I and came back from an injury in the 2nd match, bowled as many as 5 no-balls and 3 no-balls in the second over of the Lanka inning. While India bowled a total of 7 no-balls, resulting in 7 Free Hits which caused the match for team India as well. Mavi impressed everyone with his 4-wicket haul on debut but went wicketless for 53 runs in the 2nd T20I. 

Hardik Pandya has not lost a single series as captain yet, he would like to win the last T20 against Sri Lanka at any cost. Star all-rounder Washington Sundar is also a part of the team’s squad in this series, but he has not yet played a single match.

Sundar might be added for Saturday’s fixture against Sri Lanka. He has been consistently successful in making a place in Team India for some time now. He contributes with economical bowling and batting, which can prove to be a big match-winner for captain Pandya.

If we look at the record of team India in Rajkot so far, it has been good for India. Team India has won three out of 4 T20 matches here. During this, won 3 matches. While facing defeat in a match. Team India played its first T20 match here in October 2013 against Australia. In this match, India won by 6 wickets. After this, the second match was played against New Zealand in November 2017. In this match, India had to face defeat by 40 runs.

Team India won the matches in 2019 and 2022. The side defeated Bangladesh by 8 wickets and South Africa by 82 runs. Now Team India will play a game against Sri Lanka in Rajkot. The Sri Lankan team will be playing a match on this ground for the first time. This match will prove to be decisive for the three-match T20 series.

Sri Lanka got multiple positives from the last winning match against India. The likes of Hasaranga, Mendis, Rajitha, and captain Shanaka are all performing brilliantly in the series so far. The visitors will be looking to continue their winning momentum against Men in Blue if they want to win the series.

On the other hand, Team India might make a few changes after their last match defeat over Lankan Lions, we might see Sundar to be added to the playing XI for this match and there are chances that Deepak Hooda would be rested as well. The 29-year-old wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma is likely to debut in Saturday's match.

Match Details

Match: IND vs SL, 3rd T2OI, Sri Lanka tour of India, 2023

Date: Saturday, January 07th, 2023

Time: 07:00 PM (Jan 07)

Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium(SCA), Rajkot

Pitch Report

The Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium pitch is a high-scoring track, but effective bowling can control the run flow. The SCA pitch has long been regarded as one of the best batting surfaces on the Indian surfaces. The average first-inning score for this pitch is 179 runs which also favours the chasing team on most occasions on this surface. The pitch is quite flat and provides little to no aid to bowlers, whether seamers or spinners.

The weather forecast for Saturday, January 7, for this encounter, calls for a warm evening to be followed by pleasant weather with a maximum of 29 °C and a low of 22 °C with 56% humidity and a wind speed of 10 Km/hr on the match day. There is no chance of rain throughout the entire day or in the hours before the game.

Squads

IND: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Mavi, Ishan Kishan, Jitesh Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar

SL: Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Thushara

Probable Playing XI

IND: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma, Hardik Pandya (c), Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi

SL: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Fernando,Aslanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Mahesh Thikshana, Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka

Match Prediction

It would be a tough call to choose either of the teams but the home conditions mostly favour the host teams. So we say India will bounce back in this match after facing a defeat against Sri Lanka in the second T20I, win the series 2-1 and continue their winning streak at home over Lankan Lions. For India, all eyes will be on top-order batters who are yet to give a promising start in the series. While Sri Lanka won't be trying too many experiments and like to play their normal game on Saturday night.

Suggested Playing XI Real11 Fantasy Cricket