After three entertaining ODIs, Sri Lanka and India turn their attention to continuing to prepare for the upcoming World T20 by playing out three T20 matches, the first of which comes in Colombo on Sunday.
India’s second string squad won the ODIs 2-1 but Sri Lanka restored some confidence and belief in the final match which they won so they will be looking to build on that and draw first blood in this game, although that tournament in a few months is more of a priority.
Sri Lanka
The next couple of months are massive for Sri Lanka. They are not in the main draw come the World T20 yet, they will have to come through the qualifying part of the competition, so they need to be heading to the UAE with some confidence behind them. It is all well and good to say that conditions will suit them in that part of the world, which it will, but if they are not playing with confidence, belief and purpose then they could easily come unstuck.
Losing is never a good thing, especially when you are on a run of 11 losses in 12 matches, but if there is a positive for Sri Lanka then by and large it comes from the fact that they know where they have to improve. That is in the batting department. They have only scored more than 160 in an innings once in almost two years. That is 14 matches and that clearly isn’t good enough. They need to find some more runs to give their bowlers a better chance.
India
Once again this will be a second string India side competing in this series but if there is a chance to get into the main squad then this is probably the group who will force their way in. I likened this squad to an IPL select squad in one of the ODI previews and they have the chance to show that to be the case here. This is a selection of players who were having excellent IPL campaigns when the tournament got cancelled and they will be looking to replicate that form here.
If we look down what is the most likely team for India in this match then I think it is fair to say they are stronger with the bat. That isn’t to say they are weak with the ball but they are probably always going to be weaker when you consider that Jasprit Bumrah is away with the Test squad. India do have plenty of good spin options though which is likely to be important when you consider the amount of action this ground has seen.
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Team News
There is talk that Wanindu Hasaranga may come back into the side for this opening T20 even though his exclusion from the final ODI on Friday was described as down to an injury. Whether they were just saving him for this series or talk of his recall is just a bluff remains to be seen. Isuru Udana should return.
India will line up very similar to the team that represented them in the ODIs. The one change is likely to come in the spin department where Kuldeep Yadav will be a thing of the past. Varun Chakravarthy is likely to come in while Rahul Chahar could be the other leading spinner.
Betting
The run line for this match sits at 321.5 which might be a little on the high side based on the form of the Sri Lanka batsmen in this format recently. I mentioned above that they have only made more than 160 in an innings once in their last 14 T20 internationals and that doesn’t bode well for a high scoring match here. They will point to the fact that they batted well in the ODIs but they looked more comfortable when they were knocking the ball around rather than trying to blast the ball out of the park which would be a concern here.
This is a second string India bowling attack but it still has plenty of quality in it and can restrict the Sri Lanka batsmen. Another thing which might keep the scoring in check as well as a pitch which might be starting to tire, is that the Sri Lanka bowlers are generally at their best in this format of the game. There is a danger that nobody takes responsibility in this India batting as we saw in the second ODI so there are more than enough factors in play to suggest that under 321.5 runs is the right bet here.
Tips
Back Under 321.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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