India and Sri Lanka set eyes on the prize as Rajkot gears up for the series finale

It’s all square in the T20I series as Sri Lanka managed to stave away a late Indian resurgence, battling their way back through a phenomenal Dasun Shanaka. However, it’s not yet over as a crackling series finale awaits us at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium with both sides hoping to present an absolute crackerjack of a contest to light up a T20I series between the two neighbours like never before.

However, both the sides will have to look deeper than what meets the eye, especially after incredulous incidents plaguing the first two games. Two cutthroat contests going down to the wire where the first one saw a batting collapse for both sides while the second T20I was a story of woe for the bowlers.

India will be hopeful of getting their top-order firing after consecutive collapses. However, India’s major sliver of hope will be the return of Suryakumar Yadav to runs after the Mumbai Indians batter lit up the second contest with an absolute blitzkrieg while Axar Patel will be an important moniker to look out for. With all said and done, India needs some robust support from their top-order that will make life slightly easier for the middle-order that has been the best performing unit for the Men in Blue so far.

Sri Lanka have had two entirely different games as their top-order returned to form in the second contest while their middle-order failed to fire in the second contest. However, Dasun Shanaka’s shrewd captaincy has been a driving force for the Lankans as he has led both with the brain and the brawn to make this a series to remember for both the sides.

Venue Watch:

As Rajkot gears up for the mega clash, a total of 4 T20Is have so far been played here with 2 of them being secured batting first while the other 2 have been won chasing. The average first innings score is 179 while the average score while chasing slumps to 149. Going by the antiquity of the surface, it has some turn that could assist the bowlers. However, once dew sets in, it should ideally be tilted towards the batters.

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 28

India: 18

Sri Lanka: 9

Match Details:

India vs Sri Lanka

Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot

7th January 2023

7:00 PM IST

Squads:

India:

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

Sri Lanka:

Dasun Shanaka (cap), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis , Bhanuka Rajapaksa – Only for T20Is, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay , Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwanidu Fernando, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Thushara