India vs Sri Lanka, 1st T20: SL wins toss, opt to bowl

Cuttack: India captain Rohit Sharma says he would've also chose to bowl first. States dew will be a key factor in the 2nd innings.

Sri Lanka win the toss and elect to bowl.

Having comprehensively won the Test and ODI series against Sri Lanka, Team India will be keen on proving their mettle in the shortest format of the game as well when they face Lanka in the first T20 at the Barabati Stadium here on Wednesday.

With skipper Virat Kohli being rested for the shorter formats, stand-in captain Rohit Sharma will be hungry for another bilateral series win, having guided the Men in Blue to an eighth consecutive series win after their ODI triumph. It will also present the team an opportunity to test their bench strength given the addition of youngsters who has been roped in.

Saurashtra left-arm speedster Jaydev Unadkat, who last played in a T20I against Zimbabwe in June 2016 has been recalled for national duty, along with the likes of Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Deepak Hooda. Hooda, who made the headlines in February having smashed the fourth fastest Twenty20 century (108) by an Indian during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, will be expecting his



first call-up.

The batting order will be dependant on Rohit Sharma along with the likes of KL Rahul, MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya who will also shoulder the responsibility. Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will spearhead the bowling attack while spin duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav will be backed again to deliver.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are heading to the contest having walked away winless in 5 T20Is on the trot. Lanka will look to Upul Tharanga and Niroshan Dickwella to fire them against a confident Indian bowling line-up.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Basil Thampi and Jaydev Unadkat.

Sri Lanka: Thisara Perera (Captain), Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Janith Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella (wicketkeeper), Asela Gunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dasun Shanaka, Chaturanga de Silva, Sachith Pathirana, Dananjaya De Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando and Dusmantha Chameera.