The first T20 found India’s youngsters step up nicely. Shivam Mavi had a dream debut while Umran Malik stepped up in Arshdeep Singh’s absence. With the pair bowling well, India were able to defend 162, despite Sri Lanka showing a lot of courage in their run-chase.

Dasun Shanaka’s batting though is continuing to evolve. While he was at the crease Sri Lanka still looked very good, and they came threateningly close with just a two run margin. Their spinners outbowled the Indian spinners as well, which is a promising stat going into the next T20.

IND vs SL Match Details

Date: January 5th 2023

Time:  7:00 PM IST

Venue: Pune

IND vs SL Weather Report

The Weather at Pune is fine but with the game being played in the evening dew will definitely be a concern.

IND vs SL Pitch Report

Small boundaries, a flat Pune pitch and the chance of dew makes it an easy choice for the captain winning the toss as bowling first will be a huge advantage.

IND vs SL Head-to-Head

Played- 27 | India -18 | Sri Lanka – 8 | No Result- 0 | Tie- 0

IND vs SL Predicted Playing XI

India Playing XI

Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Rahul Tripathi,Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh

Sri Lanka Playing XI

Avishka Fernando, Dhananjaya De Silva, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksha, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara

IND vs SL Key Players

Ishan Kishan

With new openers being rotated Ishan Kishan will be getting a longer run in the team. He has a double hundred behind him but will want to prove that he is more than a one innings wonder as he looks to build a consistent set of scores to help settle himself in the Indian white-ball setup.

Bhanuka Rajapaksha

Bhanuka Rajapaksha’s numbers are consistently falling after a dream period during the Asia Cup. He is a very important part of the middle-order for Sri Lanka with his aggression and intent, but the returns are just not promising enough.

See Also: Virat Kohli Re-Announces Himself as the Chase Master – Cricket Winner

IND vs SL Match Tips

Sri Lanka has now lost their last eleven T20Is against India in India. They did give a nice fight in the previous game and with some inexperience in the Indian line-up Sri Lanka could create some magic.

Match Prediction: Sri Lanka Will Win the Match