Sri Lanka could target India’s weakened batting

More responsibility on batters as Surya Kumar Yadav joins Deepak Chahar on injury list

In a format best suited for the underdogs, Sri Lanka has a reasonable chance of going one up against an Indian line-up that looks less than formidable.

When the action in the three-match T20I series begins at the Ekana Stadium here on Thursday, the visiting team will look to exploit India’s weakened batting potential in the absence of Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant.

With Kohli and Pant rested, the non-availability of Surya Kumar and Deepak due to injuries clearly places more responsibility on the batters.

For the Lankans, Wanindu Hasaranga failing the Covid test a second time this month is a big blow. Placed third in the ICC rankings for T20 bowlers, the leg-spinner tested positive on Wednesday.

Though the Lankans surrendered the T20 series 4-1 to Australia, the triumph in the fifth match lifted their morale. Moreover, they are better players of spin than many of those who travelled to India in the past couple of seasons. The pitch here is known to offer a bit more bounce, something that should bring cheer to a variety of bowlers. The variety in the Lankan attack, too, is more suited to Indian wickets than the one seen from the West Indies recently.

Despite the Lankan top-order failing Down Under, skipper Dasun Shanaka was optimistic of his leading batters coming good against India. In familiar conditions of the sub-continent, the Lankans hope to build on the confidence from the victory in Melbourne.

“Whenever the top order is among the runs, we have a better chance of winning. India has strong bowling and we expect our top-order to fire to give our bowlers a chance to defend,” emphasised Shanaka on Wednesday. Expectedly, he maintained that India had suitable replacements for batters, thanks to the IPL.