India hope to seal series as Sri Lanka desperate to pull one back

It was a decent start for the Men in Blue in the ongoing T20I series against Sri Lanka as they managed to pip their neighbours by 2 runs at the Wankhede in the opener. However, there will be a lot of reasons for the Indians to frown profusely as Sri Lanka almost had the final laugh only to be denied in the dying embers of the contest.

India will need to focus on their top order after a slump in the opener. With Ishan Kishan doing the heavy lifting, the Men in Blue will hope for the rest of the top 4 to fire. Eyes will also be on Rahul Tripathi as reports suggest Sanju Samson might be a doubtful starter for the second game.

With all said and done, it all boils down to Dravid and Hardik Pandya as the two would be closely monitoring the team’s developments and will try and match them with the conditions for the game and pick the best playing XI. Keeping aside the names, India will have to rally their batting unit as one, considering the recent slump that they have witnessed despite the presence of big guns in their line-up.

Sri Lanka, are a pretty well-oiled unit but their inability to finish the games on a high has backfired emphatically.

Despite all the loopholes of both sides that will need addressing, you can expect an absolute cracker of a contest as two sides will be desperate to battle it out in all their glory at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium with the fate of the series hanging in balance.

Venue Watch:

A total of 3 T20Is have so far been played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium with 1 of them won batting first while 2 of them have been secured chasing. The average first innings score is 153 while the average second innings score is a dwindling 128. The ball tends to show some sharp turn that makes it a decent contest between the willow and the leather.

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 27

India: 18

Sri Lanka: 8

Match Details:

India vs Sri Lanka

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

5th 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, Sanju Samson, 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