Preview

The first India Vs Sri Lanka game was played with both sides severely depleted. India’s bench strength turned out to be stronger as Sri Lanka were completely outplayed. The game turned out to be a chance for India as they tried all their bowling options and didn’t use their main bowlers completely. The likes of Bumrah, Chahal, Harshal Patel and Kumar finished without completing their quota. India also tried Jadeja up the order. A spot of bother though is the fielding and Rohit Sharma has acknowledged the area of weakness.

Sri Lanka struggled to get going but will be happy seeing Asalanka’s form and Karunaratne’s striking ability. They will be without Theekshana for the rest of the series and will be hoping Hasaranga returns soon in the India Vs Sri Lanka series.

See Also: Rohit Sharma’s Rocky Journey to Test Captaincy – Cricket Winner

Match Details

Match: India Vs Sri Lanka

Date: 26^th February 2022

Time: 7:000 PM IST

Venue: Dharamshala

Weather Report

The weather for the India Vs Sri Lanka game is a spot of concern. Played in one of the most beautiful stadiums in the World, Dharamshala has seen rain play spoilsport on lots of occasions in the past. Rain is in the forecast yet again and a frustrating day seems likely.

Pitch Report

The last T20I in Dharamshala was back in 2016 and the pandemic has seen the stadium lose out on IPL games as well. Predicting the nature of the surface is tough but the ground generally sees a lot of high scores.

India Vs Sri Lanka Predicted Playing XI

India Predicted Playing XI

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Sanju Samson, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Venkatesh Iyer, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Yuzvendra Chaha

Sri Lanka Predicted Playing XI

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Charith Asalanka, 4 Janith Liyanage, 5 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Chamika Karunaratne, 8 Dushmantha Chameera, 9 Jeffrey Vandersay, 10 Praveen Jayawickrama, 11 Lahiru Kumara

Team News

India will go unchanged unless Ruturaj Gaikwad is fit. In case he is fit, India will have to see who to rotate.

Sri Lanka may go with Dickwella in place of Chandimal as they look to put in a player who can bat with lots of intent and unorthodox technique.

Key Players

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja is making a comeback after an injury and would have been happy to see the reception for him in the first T20. He got a chance to bat up the order and bowled his full quota taking a wicket as well. With Jadeja in good form over the last few years, Rohit Sharma has mentioned the possibility of promoting Jadeja in a bid to get more out of his batting. In case he does get a chance, Jadeja will finally be able to show his ability up the order.

Charith Asalanka

Asalanka was among the top run-scorers in the T20 World Cup and is Sri Lanka’s most consistent batter at the moment. He struggled in Australia but was the only player to show some fight against India.

India Vs Sri Lanka Match Tips

The India Vs Sri Lanka match has a rain cloud hovering over it leaving high chances for no-result. If any quantity of the game is possible though India will be likely to win given their recent form, strength and Sri Lanka’s struggle to find the right balance. Unless the likes of Asalanka manage to bat well, and the others show some intent around him it will be tough for Sri Lanka to pull of an upset in Dharamshala.

Match Prediction: India will win the match.