🏏SL vs India-T20I Series: M1 Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai 03/01/2023🏏

🏏Sri Lanka vs India - 1st T20I: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 03/01/2023ndia at 7 PM IST🏏

Welcome to the first International cricket match of India in 2023

Chance for new-look India to troubleshoot their T20 philosophy

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have not played a T20I since the World Cup last year, but they have a more settled starting XI

Scheduling a T20 bilateral series at the beginning of a 50-over World Cup year might not necessarily make sense but one can discern the logic -- that it could be based on commercial expediency rather than cricketing efficacy. Whether the FTP could have been better planned is debatable but a regulator's prior commitments to its broadcasters cannot be overlooked. The importance of revenue generation can never be overstated.
Regardless of the commercial commitments, the series still cannot be placed in the category of irrelevance. A new captain and a young experimental side are a work in progress and the Indian team management has a lot to study and strategize on. The planning for the next T20 World Cup, scheduled for 2024, can start with the three-match series against Sri Lanka and in the one that follows, against New Zealand later this month.
Given that the tournament is over 18 months away, the series also could serve the purpose of role identification for the players and the captain and coach can watch how each player reacts to different situations and executes the jobs assigned. It can also test Hardik Pandya's captaincy, which was hotly discussed before it was recently confirmed. In short, the series can set the pathway for the team's collective metabolism.
Theoretically, the India-Sri Lanka T20I series starting on Monday is a mismatch between the No 1 and No 8 sides. Statistically also, India are overwhelming favourites with a 15-4 head-to-head record in the bilateral games and at home, they enjoy a staggering 11-2 lead. Sri Lanka also have never won a T20I bilateral series in India.
However, the Dasun Shanaka-led team won the Asia Cup a few months ago beating a full-strength Indian side en route to the final in UAE. Consider that triumph came out of the blue, nothing can be taken for granted in this format and the Sri Lankans are also hopeful of getting a feel of the conditions they will be presented with later this year for the 50-over World Cup.

Thanks Raji for the tag.

P.S. reading an arshi ff based on cricket hehe n aaj match bhi hai wow

Weather Forecast and Pitch Report

All three IND vs SL T20Is will start at 7 pm IST. The first T20I will be played in Mumbai. The Wankhede stadium is one of the best batting wickets in the country.

So far seven T20Is have been played at this venue with five matches won by the team chasing. The trend is expected to remain the same. The captain who wins the toss will fancy chasing at this ground. We can expect a high-scoring first T20I between the two sides.

India is experiencing winter in most parts of the country. Presently it is winter in Mumbai as well. The temperature in the evening will be around 23 degrees as per Accuweather. The weather will be clear with no threat of rain.

The ground at the Wankhede Stadium has hosted just seven T20Is so far. The average first innings score in T20Is at this venue is 195 runs. India and Sri Lanka have played one T20I game here and won that game by five wickets. The team batting second has won five out of the seven matches here.

Team News

India

India will have to take a call on Ishan Kishan's opening partner. They do have quite a few options. Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar may have to wait to make their debut.

Probable XI- Ishan Kishan (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad/Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya (C), Washington Sundar, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh

Sri Lanka

Avishka Fernando and Sadeera Samarawickrama are back in the frame but finding a spot for both of them could prove to be difficult.

Probable XI- Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (WK), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (C), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara, Pramod Madushan/Dilshan Madushanka

Did you know?

Sri Lanka have never won a bilateral series against India in India.

Wanindu Hasaranga has dismissed Sanju Samson six times in 34 balls across seven innings in all T20s.

Yuzvendra Chahal has enjoyed good success against Sri Lanka picking 20 wickets in ten T20Is against them at an average of 15.65.

What they said:

"They took the game away in the Asia Cup, so all the players who took the game away are the players I'm looking for to stop them, to make sure that they don't take the game away from us. They are a very exciting team, you can see a lot of emotion also is there because obviously what happened in the past in the country and that gave them more motivation to go out there and be in a zone that they're ready to do anything and everything possible." - Indian captain Hardik Pandya

"With India hosting the World Cup (in 2023), the team can know what to expect in India in the World Cup and will have been accustomed to the conditions, crowds, and other factors." - Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka

In the spotlight:

Last year, when India's first-choice openers were unavailable, Ruturaj Gaikwad opened the innings with Ishan Kishan during the five-match T20I series against South Africa in June. While Kishan, thanks to his blazing double-hundred against Bangladesh in the third ODI, seems to have the team management's trust for now, this could be an important series for Gaikwad. If India are looking to change their batting template, he must up his game, for his first-ten-ball strike rate in all T20s since the start of 2021, where ESPNcricinfo has the ball-by-ball data, is only 98.33. Having said that, the corresponding figure for Kishan in the same period isn't too pleasing either: 111.26.

In 2022, only Rashid Khan (81) picked up more T20 wickets than Wanindu Hasaranga (73). The Sri Lankan may not have Rashid's pace but he possesses a well-disguised googly, and can bowl at a lower trajectory, thus making it difficult for batters to get under the ball and execute big hits. In seven T20Is against India, he has ten wickets at an economy of 6.79. Once again, he will be Sri Lanka's trump card, even without taking into account his lower-order hitting.

Originally posted by: SoniRita

Thanks Raji for the tag.

P.S. reading an arshi ff based on cricket hehe n aaj match bhi hai wow

Please send me the name of the story.😊

Cheers..

Thank you Raji for the thread and tagging me. 🤗

Good wishes to both teams. ❤️

Originally posted by: Savera84

How is it going with your holiday? How is weather in India?

Please send me the name of the story.😊

Cheers..

Its going well but my baby got sick with cold, cough (he is better now)

U have read that FF i think, its called Hit Wicket my heart.