Follow UsNOTE: This article has been edited and re-published following the injuries to Suryakumar Yadav and Wanindu Hasaranga
India are unbeaten under the full-time captaincy of Rohit Sharma, but with a T20 World Cup in Australia around the corner, they will know that the prime objective in bilateral games should not just be simply winning. Thus far everything the coach and captain have touched has turned into gold, and the forthcoming series against Sri Lanka is another opportunity to ensure more boxes are ticked as the build-up to the mega event Down Under continues.
Fight for the second and third seamer spot set to intensify further
Jasprit Bumrah will spearhead India’s pace attack at the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year, and this is something that is not up for debate. The second and third seamer slot, though, is wide open, and the fight for the aforementioned spots is set to intensify further against Sri Lanka.
As things stand, Harshal Patel is close to being a lock for one of the two spots due to his peculiar ability to bowl at the death with aplomb. He had a fine start to his international career against New Zealand but truly brought out his IPL 2021 self against West Indies, excelling under pressure against some of the biggest six-hitters in the world. The rare label of being a ‘death-specialist’ alone gives Harshal a significant edge over the others and he could potentially turn himself into an indispensable asset with a third consecutive strong showing.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a much-needed (potentially career-saving) stellar outing against the Windies, and with Deepak Chahar out with injury, the veteran will have a chance to further push his case. Bhuvneshwar starting the West Indies T20s suggested that, despite a lean 2021, the management very much see him as a part of first-team plans.
Then there is Mohammed Siraj who, despite not getting a game against West Indies, is very much in the reckoning. All these bowlers could potentially be competing with Mohammed Shami, who is not a part of the squad but might just end up slotting in at the time of the World Cup.
For the pacers competing for the World Cup spot, this could prove to be a series in which they have little to gain, but a lot to lose.
Will India's struggle against spin continue?
Despite the 3-0 scoreline, India had their fair share of struggles versus the West Indies. Their biggest struggle came with the bat versus spinners, against whom they were able to score at a rate of just 7.1, losing a wicket every 20 balls. The batters were wrecked by the off-spin of Roston Chase, who ended up taking 6 wickets in 3 games while maintaining an absurd ER of 5.16.
India would be relieved to know that they won't be coming up against Wanindu Hasaranga, who has been ruled out of the series due to Covid (in five matches versus India, the leggie has picked 10 wickets while maintaining an ER of 6.20) but the mystery spin of Theekshana will be no less easier to handle. Someone who predominantly bowls in the powerplay, Theekshana is coming on the back of a fine series versus Australia, where he was able to maintain an economy of 6.78. Theekshana alone will be a handful for the hosts to handle.
Sri Lanka might also look at deploying Praveen Jayawickrama, who is an excellent defensive option, evident by his overall T20 economy of 5.37.
Against West Indies, India were able to play out the spinners and pounce on the inconsistency of the seamers, but such a ploy might be difficult to execute versus the Lankans, who boast of a fine pace attack in the form of Chameera, Kumara and Karunaratne.
In T20Is since 2019, among Top 10 sides, India are ranked fifth and sixth respectively when it comes to batting strike and batting average versus spin in overs 7-15. Sri Lanka, without a doubt, will be looking at this as an area that they could exploit and hurt the hosts big time.
Sri Lanka’s need to shed conservatism with the bat
Batting let Sri Lanka down against Australia and there was a serious lack of intent from the batters, whose game plan was puzzling.
Across five games Sri Lanka batted at a strike rate of 118.2, with not a single player (that faced 25 or more balls) striking at over 120.00. Flabbergastingly the Lankans managed to hit just 19 sixes in the entire series, depositing the ball into the stands once every 31 balls. With numbers like that, it is little wonder that they went on to lose the series 4-1 despite an extraordinary effort from the bowling group.
But the Australia series is not an outlier. Conservatism with the bat has been a hallmark of Sri Lanka across the last three years, with their strike rate of 118.5 in T20Is since 2019 being the second-worst amongst Top 10 sides.
The Dasun Shanaka-led side will be playing on far smaller grounds against India, but the onus will be on the batting unit to take more calculated risks to give themselves a better chance of posting high scores.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa - left out due to fitness reasons - will be a big miss due to the southpaw being one of the best six-hitters in the country, but Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis and Shanaka would all need to show more intent, especially against spin.
Versus Australia, Sri Lanka scored just 183 runs off the 192 balls they faced against spinners; they managed to find the fence (four or six) only once every 21 balls. These are appalling numbers for a side that possesses plenty of talent.
The Lankans might also have to ponder giving a promotion to Chamika Karunaratne, who ended up facing a mere 23 balls in the entire series against Australia.
The Ravindra Jadeja return that is set to change the complexion of the side
For the first time since the T20 World Cup in UAE, Ravindra Jadeja is set to feature in the shortest format for India. His is an introduction that will provide the side with so much more flexibility, but what should interest the management is the peek they will be getting at the duo of Venkatesh Iyer and Jadeja. It is very much possible that this pair might form the side’s lower-order at the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Against the Windies, Suryakumar and Venkatesh Iyer were irresistible as a pair as they put together an astonishing 139 off 70 balls in the series, driving the team to victory in the first and third game. Unfortunately for India, they will be without the services of Suryakumar against Sri Lanka, but the management will certainly be curious to see how the chemistry between Venky Iyer and Jadeja works out.
Jadeja’s introduction might not necessarily make a difference to the approach of Venky Iyer, but it could, however, embolden the likes of Rohit, Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and even Sanju Samson, forcing them to adopt a much more aggressive approach due to the added security down the order.
The all-rounder’s comeback, though, could mean bad news for one of Chahal or Ravi Bishnoi, who might have to drop to the bench as the management are unlikely to play 3 spinners, keeping the T20 World Cup in mind.