3-0 in the Test series. 5-0 in the ODI series. Virat Kohli's men have been been in ruthless form in the ongoing tour of Sri Lanka and they would want to finish on a high by winning the only Twenty20 International in Colombo, scheduled for Wednesday, September 6.
It has been a complete performance from India so far in the island nation as both their batting and bowling units have been in top form. While Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma fired at the top of the order, Virat Kohli smashed two back-to-back centuries to help India crush Sri Lanka in the last two ODI matches.
There was some pressure on MS Dhoni as chief selector MSK Prasad had hinted before the start of the series that the wicketkeeper-batsman needed to perform consistently to retain his place in the side. The Ranchi hero though responded in style with his trademark match-winning knocks in the series and broke a couple of world records in the process.
On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah, who had a disappointing Champions Trophy final earlier this year, was at his best and won the Man-of-the-series award as the highest-wicket taker with 15 scalps.
Problem of plenty for Kohli
India announced the same squad for both the ODIs and T20Is, but Kohli has a few selection headaches ahead of the only T20I at R Premadasa Stadium.
In Dhawan's absence, Kohli is expected to open the innings with Rohit Sharma. Lokesh Rahul, who has a T20I century against his name, is likely to get the nod ahead of Ajinkya Rahane in the middle order. Notably, the Karnataka batsman played a crucial role in India's T20I series win over England earlier this year.
Manish Pandey is also expected to retain his place in the side, while Hardik Pandya, who was rested for the final ODI, will be a sure starter on Wednesday.
India's power-packed bowling line-up
In Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India have two of the most skilled T20I bowlers. The new ball bowling duo will be keen on hurting Sri Lanka early. It will be interesting to see if Kohli goes in with two wrist spinners - Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal - or prefer one of them with left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who is known for his economical spells.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have made an array of changes to the ODI squad as they have brought in leg-spinners Seekkuge Prasanna and Jeffrey Vandersay along with big-hitting all-rounder Dasun Shanaka.
Tharanga will have to be spot on with his team combination on Wednesday as another defeat will only bring more disappointment to the Sri Lankan fans, who have already expressed their frustration in unruly ways.
Team News
India
Possible XI: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah.
Sri Lanka
Possible XI: Upul Tharanga (captain), Niroshan Dickwella (wicketkeeper), Dilshan Munaweera, Angelo Mathews, Isuru Udana, Dasun Shanaka, Seekkuge Prasanna, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lasith Malinga, Vikum Sanjaya.
Match starts 7 PM IST (7 PM Local, 13.30 GMT)
Pitch conditions
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were involved in two matches earlier this year at the Premadasa Stadium and both of them did not witness big scores. However, the last two ODIs of the recently-concluded series featured batsman-friendly wickets.
The pitch is also expected to offer assistance to pacers as patches of green were visible during the ODI contests.
Rain threat, yet again, looms large at the Premadasa Stadium.
