Follow UsAfter rolling over the visitors in a rather comprehensive fashion, India, led by Rohit Sharma, will look to secure the series well in advance at the picturesque venue of North India. In the first ODI, every single batter piled on the pressure on a dispirited Lankan side following the exploits from Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. Shreyas Iyer later made a half-century well worth its weight in gold and from that point onwards, it was a story of a single-handed Indian dominance.
Ground Details
The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala might bask itself in full glory for the way it allowed a visual masterpiece but the rain has continued to be a frequent visitor to the venue. The last time a T20I was played at the venue was during the 2016 World Cup and a couple of those matches scheduled at the venue yielded no result. India and South Africa were slated to face twice after that (a T20I in 2019 and an ODI in 2020) but both had to be canceled owing to rain. As rain threat looms large, expect the pacers to have a dominant calling.
So far there have been a total of eight T20I matches at the venue and batters have scored at a rate of 8.2 runs per over. An average of 22.4 per dismissal points towards the fact that bowlers have had a distinct dominance at the venue. Coming to the bowling front, pacers have accounted for 57.6% of total wickets whereas spinners have had a share of 42.4 %. Right arm pacers have picked 51.35% of the total wickets fallen at the venue, signaling a sight of inherent dominance.
Team Suggestion
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.
Captain
Ishan Kishan has shown what he is capable of in a show of incredible panache. Not only did he become the highest run-scorer for an Indian wicket-keeper in the T20 format, but he had also done that in some style, almost scoring a century in the process. In his T20 career, Ishan averages 33.88 as an opener at a strike rate of 135.7. He has 12 fifties and a couple of centuries while batting at the same position. Hence, it is a good decision to back him to come good once again in Dharamsala.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Ishan to score between 29 and 43 runs in the 2nd T20I
X-factors
In 7 T20Is, Venkatesh Iyer has emerged as the strongest contender for the pace-bowling all-rounder role. While he has averaged 42.67 with the bat, he has scored them at 164.1 and have a balls per dismissal ratio of 26.0. He has been a handy operator with the ball as well, hence it is understandable that he calls for a bigger role. Having him as the vice-captain solves for that.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Venkatesh to score between 23-35 runs and pick 1-2 wickets
Rohit Sharma, in the last couple of series, has donned the role of an aggressor in the powerplay and runs have flown from his bat thick and fast. The Indian skipper has an average of 33.07 in the shortest format of the game and has scored 3307 runs in the process. A strike rate of 139.9 tells you the impact he has had as a batter, hence, he is going to earn a lot of points in our team.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Rohit to score between 23-35 runs
Here are top Criclytics Projections:
Probable XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lahiru Kumara