Time: Feb 26, 8 PM IST
Venue: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
Pitch Report
The chasing team has won only twice in six games at Dharamsala. There have been six scores in excess of 150 runs, with none of the teams losing all 10 wickets.
Teams
India usually don’t tinker with their winning combination until they seal the series. The same XI is likely to take the field.
Probable XI for India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Sri Lanka’s bench strength is thin on both experience and numbers, and they already have several chinks in their armoury.
Probable XI for Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lahiru Kumara
Fantasy Tips
We have opted for a fantasy cricket team based on the recent performances, overall impact, and credit points.
Power Players
In his last 10 innings, Rohit Sharma has scored below 30 runs only twice. In the opening game, his 14 of 44 runs came in boundaries and yet he scored at a strike rate of 138. In addition, he scored a hundred in the only game India played at the venue.
Charith Asalanka’s 53* off 47 does not look helpful for Sri Lanka in the scorecard. With wickets falling at regular intervals at the other end, he couldn’t accelerate much. However, he turned out to be an effective pick for fantasy players.
See the ball, hit the ball: Ishan Kishan knows only one way, and that’s the reason Rohit has preferred him as the third opener. After all, strike rate matters in the powerplay. On Thursday, Sri Lanka bowled to him where he likes, on a pitch that didn’t have much for the bowlers. 89 off 56 fetched him the Player of The Match award.
In his last 10 competitive games, Pathum Nissanka has three fifties, one forty, and two thirties. The first-ball duck on Thursday was a rare failure. Not to forget that he was the highest run-scorer in the recently concluded five-T20I series in Australia.
Smart Picks
Sri Lankan bowlers were smashed to pulp. All three pacers – Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, and Chamika Karunaratne – conceded over 10 RPO. However, Chameera and Karunaratne made amends with the bat, scoring 45 off 28 between them. The duo did what the mainstay batters failed to do.
Venkatesh Iyer may not have gotten to bat, but his 2 for 36 brought some relief to the world of fantasy sports.
India did not feel the absence of Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. At No. 3, Shreyas Iyer filled the void with his breathtaking innings of 57 off 28.
Just when there were talks over Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s inclusion, he quashed the critics with 2 wickets in the powerplay. He, however, has been ordinary against Sri Lanka. The following is his wickets column in 6 games: 0, 1, 4, 1, 0, 2.
Ravindra Jadeja batted at No. 4, even ahead of specialist batter such as Sanju Samson. In the post-match conference, Rohit indicated that India are likely to send him up the order often.
Match Preview
While India have won their last 10 matches, Sri Lanka have managed only two victories. India also lead the head-to-head contests with 15 wins in 23 games.
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