Indore: A dominant Indian team is expected to maintain its stranglehold on a miserable Sri Lanka and wrap up the three-match series when the two mismatched teams face off in the second T20 International here, Friday.
There seems no end to the woes of the visitors, who slumped to a heavy 93-run defeat in the series-opener in Cuttack, Wednesday.
While the Indian youngsters have put their hands up to deliver the goods, the Lankans are going through a terrible phase of transition during which they are badly in need of reliable performers.
This series has hardly proved to be a good preparation for the challenging South Africa tour that awaits India next month, considering the home team’s domination in the absence of a good opposition in favourable conditions.
Absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan and a transformed Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not given any respite to the Sri Lankans, who overtly rely on seniors such as Angelo Mathews, Upul Tharanga and skipper Thisara Perera.
MS Dhoni, whose finishing prowess has been under the scanner for some time now, got some runs under his belt after being promoted to number four in Cuttack and is likely to continue in the same position so that he gets enough overs in match situation before the ODI and T20 challenge in South Africa.
‘Bowling 1st will be a good option’
Indore: It will be a batting belter at the Holkar stadium for the second T20 between India and Sri Lanka but bowling first won’t be a bad option for the team that wins the toss, feels Madhya Pradesh CA curator Samandar Singh Chouhan. “Due to cloudy forecast Friday, dew won’t fall before 7:30 or 7:45 pm which means first 10 overs won’t be affected by dew. Still, bowling first will be a good option for captain winning the toss,” Chouhan said. “We have been using a chemical which prevents grass from getting wet. It causes dew to slip. We will use the substance Friday as well to negate the dew factor,” he added.
press trust of india
