IND vs SL 3rd T20I Preview: India lagging on many fronts, Lanka eye history

Sri Lanka have not won any series in India in any of the three formats. Now they have got an opportunity to etch their names in history by winning this series

Dasun Shanaka
Dasun Shanaka thanks the crowd after hitting a 20-ball fifty against India in Pune. Photo: @ICC
BS Web Team New Delhi
2 min read Last Updated : Jan 07 2023 | 8:00 AM IST
The Sri Lankan team stands on the brink of a historic feat if they manage to beat India in the Rajkot T20I. In the third match, the Lankan unit will be more confident as they beat India by 16 runs in the second one after having lost the first one narrowly by two runs. 

Sri Lanka haven't won even a single series in any of the three formats in India. They have won only four series against India in total. It was in 2008 when the Lankan lions won the last and only Test series against India. It was played in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka have twice won the ODI series against India none of them have come in this millennium. The two events occurred in 1993 and 1997. 

When it comes to the shortest format, in 2009, Sri Lanka came close to winning its first-ever series in India after they won the Nagpur T20I by scoring more than 200 runs in the first innings. But in Mohali, they lost and the two-match series ended level at 1-1. The only time Sri Lanka won a T20I bilateral series against India, was in 2021 and the series took place in Sri Lanka, where the hosts won 2-1. 

Thus, this team led by Dasun Shanaka is eyeing a feat which the Sri Lankan teams led by greats like Arjuna Ranatunga, Arvinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara could not achieve. 

India are lagging on all three fronts of the game. The batting has been poor with none of the batters apart from Deepak Hooda (1st match) and Suryakumar Yadav (2nd match) finding form. Axar Patel has been a saviour with both bat and ball. Shivam Mavi did shine in the first game with 4/22, but he was all over the place in the second. Arshdeep Singh would like to erase the second T20I from his memory as he bowled five no-balls, three of which were consecutive. 

Thus, the Indian team has not been able to click on all fronts in the same game, thereby causing difficult situations. Though the new Indian skipper Pandya wants to put his team under pressure situations to achieve better results, he too would not like to become the first Indian skipper to lose a series to a Sri Lankan team in India. 

One subscription. Two world-class reads.

Already subscribed? Log in

Subscribe to read the full story →
Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Quarterly Starter

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

Save 46%

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Access to Exclusive Premium Stories Online

  • Over 30 behind the paywall stories daily, handpicked by our editors for subscribers

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

Topics :India vs Sri LankaIndia cricket teamSri Lanka cricket teamRajkotHardik PandyaDeepak HoodaAxar PatelSuryakumar Yadav

Next Story