Sri Lanka is set to welcome India for a series of three T20I matches in Pallekele, starting on Saturday, July 27. After the retirement of aged players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, the T20 World Cup champions are moving into a new phase – with Suryakumar Yadav appointed as their captain
On the opposite hand, Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup campaign was nothing short of a disaster, whereby they couldn’t even qualify for the Super Eight phase from their group stage. Wanindu Hasaranga resigned from his captaincy and Charith Asalanka has since been appointed as the new captain.
Here are the 3 key player matchups to watch in the T20Is between India and Sri Lanka:
#1 Kusal Mendis vs Mohammed Siraj
Though he played in a different format, Mohammed Siraj has fond memories of batting in Sri Lanka because it was his last six wickets that enabled India to win the Asia Cup. He will want to perform well against every Lankan batsman; however, he has a great opportunity against Kusal Mendis.
With the bat, the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter will pose the greatest threat to India; he might generate momentum that allows the hosts to set up a respectable total. However, in this case, there are some stats to support their claim, Siraj doesn’t see much of him at all because this batter has been dismissed easily four times and only made nine runs from twenty-nine balls faced.
It would be engagingly intriguing to observe whether changing the format will result into a transformation in fortune for Mendis or if Siraj maintains his supremacy throughout the series.
#2 Hardik Pandya vs Dasun Shanaka
Following an extraordinary T20 World Cup journey, Hardik Pandya is set to draw everyone’s attention. He hit 144 runs with over 150 strike rates and also took 11 wickets. Sri Lanka must also understand that Hardik can be tough if he gets started.
In Dasun Shanaka, the hosts do have a favourable match-up for Hardik. The old Sri Lanka captain himself bowls a rather slow medium pace but seems to have worked wonders against the Indian all-rounder in this instance. Against Shanaka, Hardik has only managed to make 13 runs in 12 balls, being sent back three times.
#3 Suryakumar Yadav vs Wanindu Hasaranga
Undoubtedly, Suryakumar Yadav’s confrontation with Wanindu Hasaranga could be the most significant clash of all time. In T20 cricket, Suryakumar is among the finest batsmen and Hasaranga is known to be a true match-winner with his bowling skills.
But when we consider head-to-head performances between Suryakumar and Hasaranga, it has been no contest; Suryakumar has been way ahead. He faced him for 49 balls for which he scored an incredible 89 runs and lost his wicket only once.
For Hasaranga to rise above and have everything right, he has to take into account that otherwise Suryakumar might just turn out for a dominant performance by India throughout the series.
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