India vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20 - Match Preview and Prediction
India and Sri Lanka meet for the last time in this IT20 series. The score is 1-1 before the third match
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The hosts won the series opening match by two runs in Mumbai, while Sri Lanka levelled the series again with a 16-run win in Pune on Thursday.
India have talked about the importance of learning and putting themselves in difficult positions in this series. They almost pulled off an extraordinary comeback on Thursday, and we expect them to win this last game.
Sri Lanka put up a brilliant performance in the second match of the series, and with Dasun Shanaka's continued good form against India, anything is possible. We expect them to give India a perfect game in this third IT20.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">When it comes to India, the SL captain cannot help himself 🔥<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvSL</a> <a href="https://t.co/relu36b1WO">pic.twitter.com/relu36b1WO</a></p>— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/status/1611231085018365952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
India Players to watch
1. Suryakmuar Yadav- as wickets fell around him, Yadav was forced to bat cautiously and alertly in the early stages of his innings. However, once he got going, he showed his batting versatility, and we expect more of the same in Rajkot
2. Umran Malik- the 23-year-old pace bowler is finding his feet at the international level after taking just two wickets in his first three IT20 tournaments. Since then, he has scored 2-27 and 3-48 in this series.
Sri Lanka players to watch
1. Dasun Shanaka- the captain has scored 56 not out, 45, 33 not off, 74 not off, and 47 not out in his last five IT20 matches against India. His strike rate was 254.54 on Thursday, and he will try to improve it in this match.
2. Kasun Rajitha- the 29-year-old right-arm medium-fast bowler, was in brilliant form in Pune. He dropped both Indian openers and struck the bat on numerous occasions.
Match Prediction
India is predicted to win the final T20 due to home advantage.
Top Picks
Suryakmuar Yadav
Umran Malik
Dasun Shanaka
Kasun Rajitha
Pitch Report - Rajkot
The Rajkotpitch has produced a lot of runs in the past, with teams regularly reaching close to 200 runs. However, in the last match played at this ground, India scored only 169 runs, and South Africa was bowled out for 84 runs. This happened in June 2022.
Team Squad
India: Hardik Pandya (C), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (C), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara and Nuwan Thushara.
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