Sri Lanka’s tour of India kicked off with a washed-out T20I opener that was scheduled at the Barasapra Cricket Stadium (Guwahati) on 5th January. This is the first series of this year for both India and Sri Lanka which was supposed to take place in Guwahati. And now that the first match was abandoned, all the eyes will be on the rest of the two games.
The second T20I will be played at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on 7th January. In the meantime, the third and the decider match will be played on 10th Jan at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium (Pune). Nevertheless, after the first match being washed-out, it is going to be interesting to see if this series will be drawn or not.
Here is the predicted XI for Sri Lanka for the upcoming second T20I match in Indore:
Danushka Gunathilaka:
The Sri Lankan opener is one of the best limited-overs batsmen with a record of 452 runs in the 21 T20I innings. He helped his team score the victorious T20I series against Pakistan last year where he scored a half-century in the series opener game.
Avishka Fernando:
Avishka is the young opener for Sri Lanka who has scored a total of 148 runs in 10 T20I innings he has played till now. He has not been able to score much in the shortest format of cricket recently.
Kusal Perera (wk)
The wicketkeeper-batsman is one of the few experienced cricketers in this Sri Lankan team. Perera has been persistent with bat and good with keeping the wickets. In the previous series against Australia, Perera scored a half-century in the third and the final T20I.
Oshada Fernando:
The top-order batsman Oshada Fernando plays in all the forms of cricket for the Sri Lanka National Cricket team. In the last T20I of the series against Pakistan in 2019, he played an unbeaten knock of 78 runs. Although he failed in the later matches, he is not to be taken easily.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa:
The left-handed batsman has recently made a debut in the shortest format of cricket in the first match of the three-match T20I series against Pakistan. In the second T20I game against Pakistan in that series, Rajapaksa smashed a brilliant 77 runs and locked the T20I cap over his head for few more games.
Dhananjaya de Silva:
Dhananjaya de Silva has been an integral part of the Sri Lanka National Cricket team in recent time. He performed extraordinarily in the recent Test cricket against Pakistan. Although de Silva has not given many inspiring performances in the shortest format, he is an important member of this India tour.
Dasun Shanaka:
The allrounder was a part of the team throughout the recent series. However, he hardly bowled throughout the series till the Australia tour where he delivered one over and plucked a wicket giving off ten runs.
Isuru Udana:
The 31-year-old allrounder was an integral part of the team in the 2009 ICC World T20. The left-arm pacer has been best known for his capability to move the ball off the seam. He was part of the limited-overs bowling squads of Sri Lanka during the Pakistan and Australia tours, and he will once again be trying his best against India in ongoing T20I series.
Wanindu Hasaranga:
Wanindu Hasaranga is a leg-spinner who debuted in T20I cricket on 1st Sept 2019 during the Pallekele T20I against New Zealand. Although he has played only a few matches in the shortest format of cricket, Hasaranga won hearts with his 3/21against Pakistan in Oct 2019.
Lahiru Kumara:
Lahiru Kumara played his debutant T20I game against New Zealand in Jan 2019 when Sri Lanka toured in New Zealand. Although the right-arm pacer could not pick wickets in the one-off T20I match, he has shown his game in the red-ball cricket. And even in the ODI format, he has scalped 13 wickets in 13 matches.
Lasith Malinga (C):
The world-class pacer Lasith Malinga is leading the Sri Lanka national cricket team in the T20I cricket. Malinga has the experience of playing in the international grounds and with most of the lethal cricket teams. With the first T20I being washed-out, the right-arm pacer will now lead the team with his experience to achieve success in this series.