Sri Lanka are once again fighting to stay alive in the series. In their 100th T20I, which was the also the series opener of the ongoing three-match rubber, the visitors were crushed by a mammoth margin of 93 runs on Wednesday, December 20.
Thisara Perera's men, much like the recently-concluded ODI series, were let down by their insipid batting display. Wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were on top of their games, snaring six wickets between them, as the Sri Lankan batsmen had no clue whatsoever.
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The visitors need to pull up their socks when they take on Rohit Sharma's Team India in the second T20I in Indore if they are to stay alive in the series. The margins are small in T20I cricket and it's even finer when playing against India at their home. There was a sense of hopelessness when the visiting captain lamented the lack of options in their line-up after Wednesday's defeat.
He had said: "We don't have any players apart from these. We have to choose from this squad of fifteen."
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Sri Lanka would want an extra batsman on their side in place of all-rounder Dasun Shanaka, who failed with both the bat and the ball on Wednesday. The inclusion of Sadeera Samarawickrama, who impressed in the ODIs, might strengthen their batting order.
On the other hand, India will be looking to retain their winning XI from the first T20I. Skipper Rohit Sharma (17) missed out on Wednesday but he will be looking to make up for it on what is being touted to be a batting paradise at the Holkar Stadium.
Quite a lot of dew is expected and both teams are likely to be affected by it. However, Kuldeep and Chahal handled the ball, taking time to dry it well in Cuttack. Lack of boundaries from Sri Lanka also helped the Indian spinners as the ball did not travel often on the wet outfield.
Chahal and Kuldeep will once again be looking to run through Sri Lanka's batting order as Rohit will be looking to wrap up the series as early as on Friday.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The second T20I between India and Sri Lanka will start at the Holkar Stadium at 7pm IST, 1:30pm GMT.
Live streaming and TV coverage details
India: Star Sports 1 and 3, DD Sports; Live streaming: Hotstar
Sri Lanka: Star Sports
UK: Sky Sports Cricket; Live streaming: Sky Go
US: Willow TV
Complete Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Lokesh Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat
Sri Lanka: Thisara Perera (c), Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Asela Gunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dasun Shanaka, Chaturanga de Silva, Sachith Pathirana, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando
