Rajkot: A young pace bowling unit will look to take the brunt of last night while the Indian top-order will look to produce a meaningful performance against Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series decider here on Saturday.
After getting a narrow last ball win in the opener, India Sri Lanka leveled the three-match series 1-1 after a 16-run defeat.
What: India vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20I
When: January 7, Saturday, 7.30 PM IST
Where: Rajkot
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The inconsistency of the young attack was one of the reasons for the defeat but going forward Umran Malik and Shivam Mavi will know that it was a great learning experience for them.
He erred in his lines and did not always bowl the full length, making it easier for the Sri Lankan batsmen to dictate the pace of the short pitches.
The Indian bowling unit scored runs with left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who returned to the playing XI after injuries, bowled five no balls in his two overs.
He crossed the line thrice in his first over, making him the first Indian bowler to claim a hat-trick of no-balls in T20Is.
Mavi, who made a sensational T20I debut in the opening game, and Arshdeep Singh added to the no-ball count as they too missed the trick with skipper Hardik Pandya, who had to rely on his spinners, saying the team needs to focus on their spinners. Need to get the basics right.
But youngsters in the team are expected to get more chances as they gain valuable experience.
Head coach Rahul Dravid said, “Younger kids will have games like this at times and I think we all need to be patient with them, (but) we need to understand that these kinds of games are not Could be.”
“I think they are learning, it is tough. Learning in international cricket is not easy. You have to learn on the job. I think we have to have a little patience with these guys.”
On the batting front, the top order once again failed to provide a solid start. Shubman Gill fell victim to his second consecutive failure in the series and will be eager to capitalize on the opportunities at hand like Rahul Tripathi, who got out cheaply in his first game.
It was the second instance of a top-order collapse in the series.
But despite half the team returning to the dugout for less than 60 runs, it was heartening to see India still chasing the target as Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav pulled off the near-impossible.
In Axar, India have got a reliable likke to replace Ravindra Jadeja.
The team is expected to play more of its core to form lethal combinations as the team prepares for life ahead Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma in the shortest format of the game.
Head coach Dravid insisted, “We will not cut and change people too much.”
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As expected, Sri Lanka have given a tough fight to the hosts. The defending Asia Cup champions made a strong comeback to level the series.
However, they would like their middle order to perform better.
Rajkot is one of the flattest tracks in the country and is expected to be a batting belt.
In such a situation, the toss can play an important role as both the captains will want to chase the target.
From Teams:
India: Hardik Pandya (C), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Aslanka, Dhananjay de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Mahesh Thikshana, Chamak Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Dunith Vellalej , Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara and Nuwan Thushara.
Match starts at 7 pm.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)