Match Details
- Venue: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
- Date: 10th January 2020
- Time: 7:00 PM IST
- League: Sri Lanka Tour of India
India Preview
Following a washed out game at Guwahati, India registered an easy win against the visitors at Indore. While Jasprit Bumrah’s comeback wasn’t as ideal as one would expect, Shardul Thakur impressed everyone with his spell. Thakur picked 3 for 23 while Navdeep Saini bagged 2 wickets for 18 runs. Kuldeep Yadav was a little expensive though he picked 2 wickets as India restricted Sri Lanka to 142-9.
India’ young guns look confident with the ball and will be eager to finish the series on a positive note. While Thakur and Saini have been impressive in the previous T20I series as well, it is Bumrah everyone’s expecting to deliver. Kohli promoted Shreyas Iyer to number 3 in the last match, and the top 4 in the Indian batting line-up chased down the target. Dhawan and Rahul would like to improve on their strike rate if India opts to bat first. With Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, and Washington Sundar, India’s batting goes deep.
Sri Lanka Preview
The visitors did not have Angelo Matthews in the side for the last two games. While the 1st game was abandoned, the team clearly struggled in the batting department in the second match. Avishka Fernando and Gunathilaka at the top added quick runs in the power-play. However, the middle-order comprising of Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, and Dasun Shanaka failed to build partnership and add any significant runs to the total.
Kusal Perera was top batsman for Sri Lanka with 34 runs, and surely would have missed the services of senior all-rounder Angelo Matthews. Considering the fact that the last T20I of the series give Sri Lanka a chance to save themselves from a series-loss, Angelo Matthews would likely feature in the XI. Skipper Malinga was the most expensive with the ball, though he can bounce back in the upcoming game. Dasun Shanaka was economical and wicketless while Wanidu Hasaranga pieced a couple of wickets defending a low total. Defending against India would not be the ideal thing to do for Sri Lanka. They’d rather fancy their chances bowling first and getting the best out of their bowlers including Malinga.
Match Prediction
India to win the match
India has a much stronger batting line-up with likes of Dhawan and KL Rahul at the top, followed by Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in the middle. In addition, India’s bowlers are also in great form and have the momentum with them. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will have an uphill battle in the batting department when they go up against Indian bowling attack.
Fantasy Team Tips
- Kusal Perera is the popular choice among fantasy cricket players and is selected by almost 80% of the fantasy teams. Perera is a good striker of the ball and bats up the order in contrast to Rishab Pant’s lower batting position.
- India’s top 3 batsmen have been among the top contributors to the team total. As a result, Dhawan, Rahul and Kohli would be essential to the fantasy team.
- For Sri Lanka, the opening duo of Avishka Fernando and Danushka Gunathilaka is the most impactful in addition to Kusal Perera. Either of the two openers could change the course of the innings for Sri Lanka if they stick around for long.
- Washington Sundar and Dhananjaya de Silva are the most popular choices for all-rounders among the fantasy teams.
Fantasy Team Prediction
- Wicket-Keeper – Kusal Perera
- Batsmen – KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Avishka Fernando, Danushka Gunathilaka
- All-rounders – Washington Sundar, Dhanajaya de Silva
- Bowlers – J Bumrah, S Thakur, W Hasaranga
- Captain – Virat Kohli
- Vice-Captain – Shikhar Dhawan