🏏India vs Sri Lanka – 2nd T20 in Dharamsala 🏏

India vs Sri Lanka – 2nd T20 in Dharamsala

Teamwork divides the task and multiples the success. If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.

Unbeaten in their last 10 T20Is, Team India will be looking to carry forward the same momentum when they face Sri Lanka in the 2nd clash today in Dharamsala.

The first game was a one-sided affair as the Men in Blue wrapped up a comprehensive victory over Sri Lanka by a massive 62 runs.

Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan played the best innings of his career as he along with a half-century by Shreyas Iyer helped take India to 199 total. The bowlers later did the rest.

The Indian side is surely hard to beat at home and considering their current form, they are the likely favorites to win the second and seal the series as well.

Talking about Sri Lanka, they, on the other hand, weren’t up to the task and had given up the match way too early.

They had played ordinary shots while chasing and will need something special from the players to level the series.

Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer pulverized the visiting bowlers to amass 199, a score Sri Lanka was never going to get close to.

It was a refreshing change for India, who needed their middle order to bail them out a few times in the preceding white-ball assignment against the West Indies.

Kishan's return to form and Iyer's attacking stroke play at the death, both aided by some poor bowling and fielding, helped the Men in Blue move closer towards ironing out the concerns in their team in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.

India skipper Rohit Sharma has already mentioned Sanju Samson's T20I game and how it could translate into match-winning performances on the pacy pitches in Australia, where the T20 World Cup will be held.

With India and Sri Lanka both not playing with their full-strength sides each, the series was always going to be a battle of bench strengths of the two sides. It didn't prove to be any different in the first match too as India's bench strength pretty much trumped Sri Lanka's with relative ease.

Sri Lanka will be looking to make amends and bounce back into the series when the two sides meet today.

Meanwhile, an inexperienced Sri Lankan batting lineup let themselves down. They lost a clump of wickets in the powerplay, and even the only batter to show fight - Charith Asalanka - just couldn't put his foot on the pedal.

With some experience on the bench, the visitors might look to make a few changes to salvage the series.

Names like Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Avishka Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaksa won't be seen in action during the series, making Dasun Shanaka's task of halting India's 10-match T20I winning streak even tougher.

India: Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad / Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Venkatesh Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dasun Shanaka (C), Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lahiru Kumara

Given the way India went about their business defending the total they posted in the first match, it was clear that they wanted to explore their options with the ball.

None of their first four frontline bowlers completed his quota of four overs with India allowing plenty of bowling space to Venkatesh Iyer and Deepak Hooda.

Yes, they had a cushion of a massive total behind their bowlers, but with World Cup not too far and a quest to find another batting all-rounder stronger, we may well see India experiment a lot more in the upcoming contest.

India's intent batting first has been pretty clear in their recent matches. They have taken their time to get set, but once in, they have been a tough side to deal with. It was pretty much the same in the last game as well with Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma taking the attack to the Sri Lankans.

Coming in at number three, Shreyas Iyer was remarkably good as he paced his innings to perfection.

Even though India are going through a purple patch at the momentum in T20I Cricket, all is not rosy for them. Their fielding, especially catching, has been a bit iffy in the recent matches and that could always prove to be a decisive factor, especially in high-stake matches.

As far as the combination is concerned, India would want to give Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad a fair bit of run. Samson did not get an opportunity to show his skills with the bat whereas Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the first match. He is not expected to feature in the remainder of the matches as well and if that happens to be the case, India would likely walk in unchanged for the upcoming contest.

All in all, India are a better-equipped side and have already demonstrated their depth with a massive win in the first match of the series. They will be looking to win this match to leave the third match of the series for experimentation. If they do not get complacent and are able to play as they have in recent times, getting past them is going to be an incredibly tough task.

It was apparent in the first match of the series too as Sri Lankan bowlers lacked any plan whatsoever. They never looked in control against any Indian batsmen and would want to improve in the second match. The conditions here at Dharamsala are likely to be a bit better for their fast bowlers and they would be looking to take early wickets in the upcoming match.

On the batting front, however, Sri Lanka have been struggling ever since the beginning of their Australian tour. The absence of Wandindu Hasaranga from their middle-order has certainly taken a lot of balance away from their lineup. Their batting has not only lacked intent but also the ability to score big totals. Having said that, with some hard-hitters available in the lineup, Sri Lankan unit can really tonk the bowlers hard, provided they get their execution right.

Overall, with their first-choice players not available, Sri Lanka have a lot to fix going into the upcoming match. The conditions will suit their fast bowlers better and they will be looking to utilize that to their advantage. If they do that and are able to keep India to a modest total, Sri Lanka will certainly have a bright chance.

India was impressive as they recorded a dominant victory against Sri Lanka in their opening clash of the T20i series and they have to be confident of making it back-to-back successes based on their performance on Thursday.

Rohit Sharma (44) and Ishan Kishan (89) combined for a brilliant 111-run partnership before Shreyas Iyer (57*) helped the hosts post 199/2 which proved to be far too much for the Sri Lankans who fell 62 runs short.

SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka was underwhelming in the first game of the series against India as they fell short with both bat and ball and it is clear their bowlers in particular will need to produce more if they are to make this second game and series on the whole competition.

The in-form Pathum Nissanka fell with the first ball of his side’s innings as they chased down an unlikely 200 to win and that set the tone for the Sri Lankans with only Charith Asalanka (53*) scoring more than 24 runs.

Originally posted by: evilxbalaa

Thanks Madz❤️

Today, you are the first here🤗

THE PREDICTION

India were far too good for Sri Lanka in the first clash of the T20i series and the tourists may be reliant on the weather giving them a helping hand in this second match. Rain is expected throughout the day so a reduced game may be on the cards if play is even able to get underway. If it does, the tourists have it all to do to bounce back from a very poor display in the first game with India dominating proceedings and if a result is possible, the hosts have to be favored to prevail once again.

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

Welcome to the thread dear.

Today, you are the first here🤗

I am always first and last😎

Unchanged India win the toss and choose to bowl first

India: Rohit Sharma (capt.), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Charith Asalanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dasun Shanaka (capt.), Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Binura Fernando, Lahiru Kumara