SL vs IND: 1st T20I Preview – Indian youngsters ready to show their T20 might

After losing the first two ODIs of the series, Sri Lanka bounced back to evade a clean-sweep as they won the final game by three wickets. The two teams will now head into the shortest format as they play three T20Is between July 25 to 29.

After improving their performance in the ODIs, Sri Lanka would want to emulate the same in the T20Is. The hosts were rolled over in the first ODI, as India chased 263 with seven wickets intact and 80 balls to spare. In the second, they made India fight to get to 276 and if not for the one magical Deepak Chahar knock, the hosts would have levelled the series instead of losing by three wickets.

In the urgency to avoid a clean-sweep against arguably a second-string Indian team, they pulled one back to seal the score-line at 2-1. With the winning momentum behind them, Sri Lanka would enter the series with more confidence.

On the other hand is India, who played a brilliant brand of cricket in the first two games, but made wholesale changes in the final game to test their bench strength. Though the team managed to create a few moments, the lack of capitalization led them to lose the final ODI. With T20I World Cup approaching, this series is an opportunity for India to finalize at least a few names who will be a part of the team during the global event in UAE later this year.

Team News

Sri Lanka

Binura Fernando, who missed the ODIs, is set to return. Wanindu Hasaranga missed the final ODI due to a torn muscle. If he regains fitness, he will be slotted back straight into the team.

Predicted XI: Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka (WK), Bhanuka Rajapaksha, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga/Isuru Udana, Dasun Shanaka (C), Binura Fernado/Lahiru Kumara, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera

India

India has plenty of options to try keeping in mind the T20 World Cup preparations, but it is unlikely that the team will experiment in the first two games.

Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy/Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal

Match Info

Match: Sri Lanka vs India, 1st T20I

Dates: July 25, 2021

Time: 08:00 PM IST,

Venue: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo