IND vs SL, 2nd T20I: Visitors Bowl First In Do-Or-Die Clash

Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to field first in the must-win second T20 International at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore.

The visitors have made two changes to the playing eleven that lost the first game while the hosts have gone in unchanged.

Here is what the captains said:

Thisara Perera:

“We would like to bowl first. Looks like a ground with small boundaries and so we want to chase whatever they put on the board. Two changes from the last XI, Sadeera and Chathuranga are in.”

Rohit Sharma:

“That’s the most important thing, toss doesn’t matter much but it’s what we do on the field that matters. We are happy batting first. Looks a good pitch and we need to do the same things that we did in the first game. Need to post a good total first up and then bowl first. Yes, it’s important not to be complacent and need to take things one game at a time. Just need to do the same good things over and over again. One needs the right attitude to execute that. We are unchanged.”

Preview:

High-flying Team India will be keen to kick-start the festivities early as a win in the second game will help them take an unassailable lead in the three-match series. Fresh off the win in the ODI series, Rohit Sharma & Co. completely dismantled Sri Lanka in the first T20I, thrashing them by 93 runs to take the lead in the series. If the batsmen did their part by posting a mammoth 180, then the bowlers did even better to dismiss the Islanders for a paltry 87 to fire India to their biggest win in the shortest format of the game by runs. With form on their side, the hosts will be looking to wrap up the series in Indore.

Read More  Watch: Virat Kohli stares at Gautam Gambhir as KKR spice things up with 'hard' post ahead of high-voltage clash

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be desperate to move on after the thrashing they received in the first game in Cuttack. Barring the toss and a few period of their bowling innings, nothing much went their way in the previous game as they suffered yet another humiliating defeat in 2017. With only two games left before the year ends, Thisara Perera & Co. will be looking to finish off the year on a strong note.

Here is the playing eleven of both the teams:

Sri Lanka:

Niroshan Dickwella(w), Upul Tharanga, Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Asela Gunaratne, Thisara Perera(c), Chaturanga de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep

India:

Rohit Sharma(c), Lokesh Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, MS Dhoni(w), Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

An avid cricket lover, I just love this game more than anything. Writing about cricket keeps me closer to the game.