IND vs SL: India has initiated their first major tournament since their T20 World Cup triumph. The ideal beginning of the tournament has been for the Men in Blue, as they emerged victorious in the first game.
This series might not be one of the most crucial series on the international front, but from India’s point of view, this is a very vital outing, as this marks Gambhir’s first opening as Team India head coach. The series also features Suryakumar Yadav as India’s new T20I skipper; hence, this series remains a memorable outing for the veteran T20i batter as well.
A summary of India’s first T20I of the Sri Lanka tour
India played the first T20I at Pallekele, as Surya led India to a very thrilling victory. Sent in to bat first, India was led by the skipper alongside other openers and veteran wk-batter, Rishabh Pant. All scored runs at a very quick rate, as Surya remained the best batter with 58 runs.
On the bowling front, World Cup winners Siraj, Arshdeep, and Axar picked 5 wickets together to break the back of the Lankan batting order, as Riyan Parag picked 3 wickets to end their innings.
India’s tour of Sri Lanka T20I Squad
INDIA Squad for T20Is of Sri Lanka Tour: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shivam Dube, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Md. Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Rinku Singh.
India’s strongest playing XI in the 2nd T20I
India is not likely to make many changes in the starting XI from the first T20I. Though the team picked did not seem to satisfy the Indian spectators, Gambhir had always been known for his unique antics and unconventional tactics, which often gave him great results.
As India does not have the like of any other opening pair, Gill and Jaiswal are supposed to retain their position. Surya was seen batting at No. 3, which is great for the veteran batter and the Indian side as well.
ALSO READ: IND vs SL: No resistance to Surya’s flow of runs despite captaincy’s role—likely the right decision made by Gambhir and co.
With Pant and Pandya in the team, likely someone like Samson can be ideal at no. 4; however, with GG going for Riyan Parag, he can also be promoted up the order in order to hand him some game time with the willow.
Sundar might not be recently picked over Bishnoi; however, changes to the bowling deck might be made later in the series.
India’s Strongest Playing XI:
- Shubman Gill
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Suryakumar Yadav (C)
- Riyan Parag
- Rishabh Pant
- Hardik Pandya
- Rinku Singh
- Axar Patel
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Arshdeep Singh
- Mohammad Siraj
