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India is hosting two matches in Dharamshala, one of the most picturesque grounds in the world. The snow-capped mountains of Himachal, beckon everyone to fall in love with nature.

1st T20I recap

The match was rather one-sided, once it became clear that Hasaranga, Kusal Mendis, Mahesh, and Binura Fernando are not playing. Bowling is the strength of Srilanka and with both the spinners missing and most penetrative pacer missing the result was inevitable.

One should not take away the credit from Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, and Rohit Sharma, who took the score to 199 on a pitch where 170 seem to be par.

In contrast Pathum Nissanka the main batsman got out for a  golden duck and who did the damage? It was the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar once again. Asalanka was the only batter who looked comfortable but the target proved to be too high to chase down.

Match timings

Match Toss Time: 18:30 IST (13:00 GMT)

Match Start Time: 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT)

Match Venue: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala

Head to Head

Matches played: 22, India: 15, Sri Lanka: 6, N/R: 1

Venue and pitch

Dharmshala Pitch

Due to high altitude, this pitch has swing and movement. The bounce is low and the ball comes onto the bat well. So scoring is not difficult once the batsmen set in. The target of 170 is good is winning total at this venue. 

To date, 9 matches have been played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, 3 of them were washed out due to rain . 4 matches were won by batting first and on 2 occasions the chasing team managed to come on top. 

The Indian skipper will have good memories here as the only T20I India has played at the venue, he managed to score a fluent 106 off 66 balls.

Toss

This time expectations of rain and dew will induce teams to chase. Out of two matches, one will be affected by rain in all probability. We can pray that I am wrong on rain prediction and we all enjoy a good game of cricket.

Teams

The hosts are expected to feature the same Xl as of the 1st T20I as they seem to have found a very good balance. The comeback of star all-rounder Jadeja definitely strengthened the middle-order and spin attack.

Sri Lanka’s lead all-rounder Hasaranga is not likely to make it to the squad. There is no official report on the fitness of Kusal Mendis yet and visitors will be hoping he along with pacer Binura Fernando make it in time for the second rubber.

Probable playing Xl

India (IND): 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 (SL): Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara/Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lahiru Kumara

Verdict

It is David vs Goliath series and we predicted Indian victory in the first match. The unavailability of a few of the key players on the Lankan side has definitely taken a toll on their performance. 

The only savior for Sri Lanka seems to be the weather and yes it is unfortunate as a vivid cricket follower to say this, however, we see no surprises here and we expect another stroll in the park for the Indian side.

Cricwizz predicts India to win the 2nd T20I and lead the 3-match T20I series, 2-0.

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