Team India are on a rampaging run in T20 cricket. With the ICC World T20 2016 in sight, MS Dhoni & co. will look to continue with their momentum, when they take on Sri Lanka in their third match of the 2016 Asia Cup T20 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Tuesday.
Sri Lanka were recently handed a T20 series defeat by India, and Dhoni and his boys will look to reassert their dominance over the Lankan Lions, who were beaten by Bangladesh for the first time in the shortest format of the game, Sunday.
It will take a herculean effort from this Sri Lankan side in order to beat the upbeat India in the upcoming match.
Here is a look at the key battles.
Virat Kohli vs Lasith Malinga: With his innings against Pakistan, Saturday, Kohli proved how he has matured over the years and why he is the best in the business in this format of the game. It's not a surprise that Kohli holds a good batting record against Lasith Malinga. He has taken Malinga to the cleaners in the past and he can do the same in the next match as well. Malinga, on the other hand, will look to better his stats against Kohli, who is in incredible form at the moment. While Malinga missed out against Bangladesh due to an injury, he is likely to feature against India, and he will look forward to making an impact.
Rohit Sharma vs Dushmantha Chameera: Rohit was out for a duck in the second T20 against Pakistan as he succumbed to an outstanding in-swinging ball from Mohammad Amir. But the Mumbai Indians captain showed his class in the first T20 against Bangladesh. Rohit will look to bounce back against Sri Lanka but he will have to wary about Chameera, who troubled most of the Indian batsmen during the T20 series in India. Chameera usually bowls at a good pace and the kind of wicket we have seen during Asia Cup, he can prove to be extremely effective. Chameera, though, only bowled in the second half of the innings aaginst Bangladesh, so it remains to be seen if he gets the new ball.
Yuvraj Singh vs Rangana Herath: The left-hander loves to play left-arm orthodox bowlers, as he likes to sweep them for sixes over the midwicket boundary. Herath will be wary of that. The left-arm orthodox bowler will have to use his experience while bowling to Yuvraj, who is a good player of spin. We are yet to see a trademark Yuvraj innings, after his comeback and we may just get to see one against Sri Lanka.
Dinesh Chandimal vs Ravichandran Ashwin: Chandimal has been the best batsman for Sri Lanka in recent times. With the top-order failing to deliver, he has decided to open the innings alongside Tillakaratne Dilshan. The wicketkeeper-batsman has done well in that position, and he will look to make it big against India. But, Ashwin will always be there to trouble him with his variations. Ashwin has been extremely economical in T20 cricket and that can add extra pressure on the batsmen.
Angelo Mathews vs Ravindra Jadeja: Mathews is one of the most experienced all-rounders in the Sri Lankan side. However, he struggled against Bangladesh in the last game, failing to take his team over the line. With the wicket likely to be along the same lines, Mathews will need to play better this time around. Dhoni should ideally unleash Jadeja, who also has been extremely good of late, against Mathews. Jadeja picked up a couple of wickets against Pakistan and one against Bangladesh. He will look to add a few more scalps to his name in this game.
