Venue: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Time: 7:00 PM IST
Average score at venue (1st inns): 156
Win percentage while batting first: 100%
Pitch conditions:
- The Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, is expected to be a batting-friendly venue with fast bowlers enjoying the majority of success so far in the shortest format, at one of the newest cricket venues in India.
- Fast bowlers have so far taken 83.72% of the wickets when compared to the spin bowlers, who have taken a mere 16.28% of the dismissals.
Weather prediction:
It will remain partly cloudy on Thursday throughout the day with temperatures hitting a high of 28°C in the afternoon, with the mercury dropping down to 24°C around the time of the start of the match. The humidity levels will be more than 65% during the match hours on Thursday in Lucknow.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD (overall):
Matches played: 22
India won: 14
Sri Lanka won: 7
Tied: -
No result: 1
In India:
Matches played: 11
India won: 8
Sri Lanka won: 2
Tied: -
No result: 1
Top 3 players from India: Venkatesh Iyer, R Sharma, Ishan Kishan
Top 3 players from Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dasun Shanaka, Dushmantha Chameera
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each)
Top 5 players from India: Venkatesh Iyer, R Sharma, Harshal Patel, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer
Top 5 players from Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dasun Shanaka, Dushmantha Chameera, Kusal Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana
Q & A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
It is a contest between two groups that have plenty of new faces who are largely alien to each other when it comes to the past experience of playing against each other. It must be remembered that the India squad which toured the island nation last year, was a bunch of second-choice yet very promising players from India who were beaten 2-1 in the three-match series. With the venue supporting fast bowlers more than it has assisted spinners, it will be wise to add plenty of fast bowling options along with a long batting line-up for the fantasy playing cricket XI in the series opener.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
Under the captaincy of R Sharma, India have so far blanked West Indies and New Zealand 3-0 in their respective T20I series at home, following the debacle in the T20 World Cup last year. India have certainly adopted a new template of playing cricket in the shortest format and so far their moves and experiments have yielded desired results. On the other hand, Sri Lanka have arrived in India on the back of a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Australia, with the home team themselves not necessarily full strength for the series against the island nation. India has the stronger side and should have more players featuring in the fantasy cricket XI.
MORE INFORMATION: The home team India are also not at full strength for the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka. Having already rested their former captain V Kohlii and star wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant from the entire series, India were on Wednesday delivered a big blow when their Mr Dependable middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav and bowling all-rounder Deepak Chahar were ruled out due to injuries that they sustained in the final match against the West Indies last Sunday. While the Indian cricket board has not claimed replacements, it can be assumed that the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad will continue to get their opportunities along with the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will be feeling the pressure after it emerged that the star spin bowling all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga has not fully recovered from the coronavirus infection, as they are already without the services of Bhanuka Rajpaksa, who was not selected for this series on the basis of fitness reasons.
Players’ form: India will certainly be pleased with the fact that they had multiple players standing up and delivering for them in the series against West Indies, wherein they were not challenged as much by the opponent as they were by situations and conditions that tend to have greater impact in white ball cricket. In two matches, India were asked to bat first knowing that the dew factor later on in the night would make the job difficult as the game progresses. While India will miss Suryakumar in the middle, hosts still have the firepower of R Sharma, Kishan, Shreyas and Venkatesh Iyer, and an exciting bowling line-up which has Jasprit Bumrah returning to it. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will be hopeful that their opening batsman Pathum Nissanka continues making plenty of runs as he did against Australia down under and others in Dasun Shanaka and Dushmantha Chameera chip in against India, as they did last time.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
Likely XIs:
INDIA: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Jasprit Bumrah, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal
SRI LANKA: Kamil Mishara, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Janith Liyanage (wk), Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara
FANTASY XI: Rohit Sharma, Pathum Nissanka, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Kusal Mendis, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.
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Rohit Sharma’s India look to continue winning momentum
India will look to continue with their rich form in the shortest format when they take on Sri Lanka in the first match of the three-game series starting at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Thursday night. The two teams will play the remaining matches at the picturesque Dharamsala stadium on Saturday and Sunday in back-to-back matches.
The home side India are favourites to continue with the rampage given that they have blanked West Indies and New Zealand by similar margins of 3-0 in their previous two matches series in their backyard. R Sharma has eased into the role of captaincy after V Kohlii stepped aside, while India have adopted a new template of playing T20 cricket which completely relies on flexibility as well as developing the skill and ability to win important situations.
India have been giving chances to their young players more than depending on their seniors, breaking away from their long followed formula of carrying a top-heavy batting lineup, which has been possible with the rise of players such as Suryakumar Yadav in the middle-order. However, India will expect similar performances and runs from the likes of Shreyas Iyer, who is all set to get his chances in the series has Suryakumar out due to a hairline fracture which he suffered in the third match against the West Indies.
The home team will also be missing the services of their bowling all-rounder Deepak Chahar, who also suffered an injury — to his right quadriceps — in the third match against the Caribbean side which was played last Sunday in Kolkata. The bowling department, however, has been bolstered with the return of Jasprit Bumrah who will be the vice-captain for the series as KL Rahul continues to build on his recovery and recuperation after suffering a hamstring injury.
India have once again pinned hopes on Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson to come good in the format as they believe he is one of the best when it comes to strokeplay as well as building innings and shortest format, something that he has been trusted with at the Indian T20 league side Rajasthan. In the absence of the first-preferred explosive wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who has been rested for the series along with former captain V Kohlii, Samson is likely to get his chances as well.
The series is also another golden opportunity for all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer to establish himself after producing remarkable performances, particularly with the bat against the West Indies. The bowling department will continue to have Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan.
The visiting side Sri Lanka will look to approach the series as a great learning curve given that they have plenty of young firepower in their ranks and confidence to draw from their previous assignment against India last August. Sri Lanka were able to clinch that series 2-1 given that the visiting Indian camp was hit severely by the coronavirus, with the visitors forced to play all of available 11 players which also hampered their team balance.
While the likes of Pathum Nissanka, Dushmantha Chameera and Dasun Shanaka remain the biggest hopes for Sri Lanka on the store, the visitors are most likely to be without the services of their star spin bowler Wanindu Hasaranga, who is yet to recover from the coronavirus infection which prevented him from taking part in some of the matches in Australia.
