Nidahas Trophy 2018: BAN vs IND - India's Predicted XI

With tri-series poised at the mid-way stage, with all three teams with one win and a loss, India broke the stalemate by clinching a six-wicket victory over hosts Sri Lanka.

Now, India has the perfect opportunity to seal a place into the finals with a win over the Tigers, who would be buoyed with their 210+ run chase, keeping themselves alive in the series.

With everything to play for on Wednesday for the two teams at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, let us look at the predicted XI of the Indian team.

Shikhar Dhawan

Carrying on from his successful tour of South Africa, Shikhar Dhawan has reigned supreme in the ongoing series. His knocks against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were simply sensational. A failure in the last match against Lanka means the southpaw would be looking to fill his boots against the Tigers.

Rohit Sharma

It is only fair to say Rohit has been woefully out of form since the beginning of the year, in all formats of the game. Sharma had got the starts following his duck in the tournament opener but couldn’t go further. With scores of 11 and 17, Rohit might think he is just a few shots away for putting up a big score.

KL Rahul

The move of KL Rahul coming in for Rishabh Pant almost paid dividends against Sri Lanka last time around. Lokesh Rahul was unfortunate to be dismissed by hit-wicket in the last match after getting a start of 18 runs. With the current competition in the batting within the Indian team, KL would be looking to fill in his boots in the upcoming matches.

Suresh Raina

Since the Jo’burg T20I, it is clear Suresh Raina is going to play his shot-a-ball game. Raina brought the Indians back on track with his explosive 27 off 15 balls.

However, situational awareness might have seen him finish the game for his side with a half-century, which in turn would have been ideal, as Raina is on his comeback trail.

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has had four not-outs in his last six innings. It means he has finished the inning for his side successfully on all occasions and fulfilled his role in the team. Pandey, yet again, would hold the key in the upcoming match against Bangladesh.

Dinesh Karthik (wk)

Much like Pandey, DK had provided the finishing touch in the series with those crucial boundaries at the death. Karthik has hit the ball at a brilliant strike rate this series and would hope to contribute more to India if he gets an opportunity up front.

Vijay Shankar

Having not got an opportunity to bat, Vijay Shankar has been neat with the ball, clinching three wickets in the three games at a reasonable economy. He also received the man of the match award against Bangladesh.

Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar is the find for India in the tri-series. The Tamil Nadu spinner was responsible for slowing down the game with his economic four overs. Sundar also scalped three wickets in the process.

Jaydev Unadkat

The multi-million dollar man from this year’s IPL has not been able to recreate the magic in the ongoing T20I season for India. Since the South African series, Undakat has been exorbitant on all occasions.

Shardul Thakur

Thakur made a perfect comeback against Sri Lanka, where he clinched four wickets in the fourth T20I. He conceded as many as he did in just one over against Perera in the tournament opener. He also secured the man of the match award in the last match.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal would want to lead in the spin department by claiming wickets in the middle. Chahal yet again was on the expensive side against Sri Lanka in the last game.