IND vs SL: Playing 11, Pitch Report And More

India will look to consolidate their lead in the five-match IND vs SL T20I series as they play Sri Lanka in the second match at Visakhapatnam. The hosts once again exposed the gulf between the two teams with a comprehensive victory in the series opener.

But despite their domination with the bat and ball, India will be eager to get one key aspect fielding right after they dropped five catches in the first game and three of those were sitters.

With eight wins in their last ten T20Is against Sri Lanka, India have become the clear favourites going into the contest, while the visitors look to find their consistency and urgency.

First T20I Recap: India Clinical, Sri Lanka Conservative

Sri Lanka, who batted first, struggled to muster a commendable total and could only manage 121, which their captain, Chamari Athapaththu, readily admitted was not a good score. It was a rather chilly evening before the effects of the dew were felt, but Sri Lanka was not able to muster any momentum as the Indian bowlers were in complete control of the middle-order overs.

But the Indian women are ruthless in their approach to the chase. Jemimah Rodrigues started the chase in impressive fashion by scoring a fluent half-century to enable the Indian women to get the target in 14.4 overs.

The Challenge for Sri Lanka: Support for Athapaththu

For Sri Lanka, a lot is expected once again from captain Chamari Athapaththu. In the two matches that Sri Lanka has won over India recently, Athapaththu has scored crucial knocks of 61 and 80. Although there was some hint from opening batswomen Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, and Hasini Perera, they could only score one run per over.

A什utorial challenge that India will have to overcome in this match between IND and SL would require a minimum of one prominent opener to accompany their batting to deeper overs.

Form Guide

India: WLWL

Sri Lanka: LLWLL

India’s recent consistency has further improved their prospects for the upcoming Second T20I.

Players in the News
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Vaishnavi Sharma (India)

Vaishnavi Sharma made her international debut in the first T20I and showed good control in her over even though she did not take any wickets. She was entrusted with the task of delivering her overs after the power play and leaked only 16 runs in her fours over. She is one to watch out for in the coming T20 World Cup as she is only 20 years old.

Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka)

Athapaththu has scored 822 runs in the last 24 innings of the T20 Internationals with the help of two centuries and five fifty’s at a strike rate of 125.11, the best among the batsmen of the Sri Lankan team. A lot depends on Athapaththu’s innings for a level series for Sri Lanka.

Team News and Probable XIs

India

India are unlikely to tinker with a winning combination, continuing with a balanced attack of seamers and spinners.

Probable XI:
Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, N Shree Charani

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka may persist with the same XI despite some expensive bowling spells, trusting their spin-heavy combination.

Probable XI:
Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Vishmi Gunaratne, Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuythyangana (wk), Inoka Ranaweera, Malki Madara, Kawya Kavindi, Shashini Gimhani

Bet Type and Odds: Chasing Favourite Again

Visakhapatnam surface will likely act similarly to the first game. Although a flat wicket was projected, it ended up being two-paced, sticking in the surface at times. Dew should play a role once again, and chasing would be the better option to go forward in this IND vs SL encounter.