India look to hit back after opening defeat

• Sri Lanka, who are going to be without Dinesh Chandimal, will want to get their ‘A’ game going after losing to Bangladesh in their last fixture

With all three teams having won one and lost one in the Nidahas Trophy Twenty20 International tri-series, Sri Lanka and India face off on Monday with the aim of strengthening their positions and pushing for a spot in the final.

Kusal Perera has scored 140 runs in two innings so far in the series

The hosts will have to make do without their captain Dinesh Chandimal, who has been suspended for two matches for a slow over-rate during their previous fixture against Bangladesh. 

Sri Lanka and India had met in the opening game of the series and Sri Lanka had little trouble chasing down India’s 174 then, helped along by Kusal Perera’s whirlwind 66. But things have changed since then. India defeated Bangladesh by six wickets first, and Sri Lanka lost to the same opponents by five wickets in the last game of the tournament courtesy a match-winning half-century by Mushfiqur Rahim.

India were clinical against Bangladesh. Shikhar Dhawan carried on from his 90 off 49 balls against Sri Lanka to score his second half-century of the series – a fluent 55 off just 43 balls. Dhawan, of course, came into the picture after the bowlers – in particular Vijay Shankar, who picked up 2/32, and Jaydev Unadkat (3/38) – had done a great job, a component that was missing in the first game.

Rohit Sharma, who has scores of 0 and 17 so far in the series, must want to make his presence felt and so will Rishabh Pant, who hasn’t quite clicked so far. Those two glitches aside, India look a well-rounded unit going into this game but need to be wary of Kusal Perera, who took them to the cleaners in their previous meeting, and the other big hitters in the Sri Lankan line-up, Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga and Thisara Perera among them.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be feeling disappointed after having failed to defend an imposing total of 214/6 against Bangladesh. The batsmen came good, with Perera (74) registering his second consecutive half-century of the series and Mendis helping him with a handy knock of 54. However, their bowling should be a cause for concern as this was the second game in a row that the bowlers had gone for runs.

Variations key for success in T20s says Unadkat 

Reuters: Indian cricketer Jaydev Unadkat yesterday said variations in bowling was the key to win T20 matches and said India will try to deceive the batsmen when they take on Sri Lanka in the fourth match of the ongoing Nidahas Trophy in Colombo.

Unadkat made the comments after the Indian team sweated it out at the R. Premadasa stadium on the eve of their match against the hosts.

The left-arm seamer said exciting times lie ahead for him, adding that the will look to cement his spot in the Indian squad by putting up a string of good performances in the upcoming tours.

India lost the opening match of the tournament against Sri Lanka. However, they got back to winning ways by overcoming Bangladesh and will look to gain the upper hand in the tournament with a win today.