Test victories against Sri Lanka, check. ODI thrashing, check. Now, India will look to continue their dominance in the shorter format as the Men in Blue prepare to face the island nation in a one-off T20 match, scheduled for Wednesday at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
After winning the Test series, 3-0, India beat Sri Lanka 5-0 with utter ease, and are now eyeing a tour whitewash, which would be historic for Virat Kohli-led side, who are making rapid strides in world cricket.
Sri Lanka have not been able to bring their A game in either the Test or the ODI format, but there is a serious need for them to showcase their class in T20 cricket. Their fans have been left frustrated after some humiliating performances and threw water bottles at the players in the fourth ODI.
Sri Lanka are struggling after their stalwarts, primarily Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara retired from the gentlemen's game. The seniors of the team including Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga need to shoulder responsibility and help the youngsters to end the series on a better note.
India, on the other hand, are expected to go all out and demolish Sri Lanka. India, who are among the top three in both Test and ODI rankings, will also be determined to prove that they are a strong team in the shorter format too. They are ranked fifth in T20 cricket.
Men in Blue might have made some changes in the last two matches of the ODI series, giving others a chance, but with this being a one-off T20 match, India are expected to field a strong team.
India have a solid squad and it would take some doing to rob Kohli's team of victory on Wednesday.
India Squads: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur
Schedule
India vs Sri Lanka T20
Venue: Premadasa Stadium in Colombo
Time: 7 pm local time, 7 pm IST
TV channels:
- India: TV: Sony Ten 3, Sony Ten 3 HD, Sony Six, Sony Six HD.
- Sri Lanka and Indian sub-continent: TV: Sony Ten.
- South Africa: TV: SuperSport.
- USA: TV: Willow TV.
