5 reasons why Sri Lanka will be stronger in the T20I against India

Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Sri Lanka have were whitewashed 0-5 by India at home in the ODI series and it was the first time an opposing team achieved such a feat in Sri Lanka.

There were a lot of issues for the Lankan side which just couldn’t finish off innings after a good beginning thus leading to below par scores. The lower half of the batting line-up just couldn’t compliment the good work done by the top order.

Further adding to their worries was the complete non-performance of their fast bowlers, especially Lasith Malinga who just couldn’t back up the good work done by their spinners.

The lone T20I gives the island nation an opportunity to impress and give their fans something to cheer about.

Coming into the one off T20, here’s why Sri Lanka could compete better against India.

#5 Arrival of new faces who haven’t been part of the 0-5 whitewash

It always helps a team when they are in the doldrums, looking for inspiration from somewhere to get back on track, to have some new faces come into the squad.

Although it’s only for a one-off T20I, the likes Segukke Prasanna, Jeffrey Vandasarey, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana and Dasun Shanaka will get a chance and the new faces will be raring to go.

What the influx of these players bring to the table is a fresh mind which is not too burdened by the defeats in recent times and along with that being the lone T20I they will be willing to give it their best shot.

The inclusions also plug certain areas Sri Lanka were missing in the ODI’s, one of them being a good fast bowler to support Malinga. They now have Lakmal in the team along with Udana who is very good with his variations which can trouble the batsmen.

Also, the Lankans lacked some fire-power down the order and this team with Thissara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Milinda Siriwardana have the talent, who when fire on a given day can score quick runs at a fast pace.

#4 Emphasis put on selecting T20 specialists

Dickwella sure can smash a bad ball

In this version of the game, you need multi-dimensional players who can adapt to any situation almost as soon as they come into the crease. They need to have that skill in them to score quickly right from the start.

The need of the hour is for the team to have players equipped for this format of the game, players who mostly play only T20s.

Someone like a Thisara Perera or a Lasith Malinga, who have extensive track records in the T20 format playing in different T20 leagues across the globe, would need to bring out their A game and deliver in this game.

It’s up to them to bring in their T20 experience and make sure they deliver their slower balls and yorkers accurately against this dominant and attacking Indian batting line up.

Sri Lanka need Malinga to get his form back as he was well below his best in the ODI series If there is one format where Malinga can turn things around in his favour, it is the T20 format.

On the batting front, their openers -- Tharanga and Dickwella -- would have to get them off to a flying start so that the likes of Perera, Mathews and Shanaka can finish the innings well.

Since it’s a compressed format, the middle overs struggle shouldn’t be that much of a hurdle for the Lankans. Specialists like Perrera, Shanaka and the rest should provide the edge the team needs and the Sri Lankan fans would hope that they can deliver and provide them with some joy in the T20I against India.

#3 Their bowling attack looks more promising

Malinga needs to step up

One thing clearly evident from the ODI series was Sri Lanka definitely lacked a potent bowling line up which could consistently cause troubles to this Indian batting line up.

Akila Dananjaya was a find for them but as the series went on, the Indians found ways to counter him making him less of a threat. Sri Lanka have picked three leg spinners in their team, including Dananjya, Vandasarey and Prasanna.

The fact that Vandasarey is someone India haven’t faced before could play into Sri Lanka’s hands if he gets it right. Also someone like Isuru Udana can be effective with his variations, a much-needed skill in the modern game.

All-rounders like Perrera and Shanaka could cause some trouble as they can be deceptive. And more importantly, they possess the skills to be handy in the death overs of a T20 innings when things can get really hard for the bowlers.

For this bowling line up to look that much more potent, Malinga would need to step up and put on a good show. Around Malinga, the rest of the bowlers can do their bit effectively.

#2 The format allows batsmen to express themselves more freely

Perera needs to unleash his inner T20 beast

After being part of the test and ODI teams that lost badly to India, the likes of Dickwella, Tharanga and Mathews would want to forget those results and come out in the T20I and express themselves freely.

They are the core of this Lankan batting line up and in the ODIs, each one of them has impressed in patches but they were not able to sustain their good work long enough for their team to reach winning positions.

Among the biggest problems facing them was that they just couldn’t rotate the strike too often, thus building up pressure which eventually led to their demise. The middle-overs in the ODIs was where the innings collapsed due to slow scoring rate and quick fall of wickets.

Since this is a T20, these batsmen would go in with a freer mindset, not bothering too much on rotating the strike and building a big partnership. They might look to get in and then just start attacking.

Someone like a Dickwella would surely be given the license to attack from ball one as if he stays more than 10 overs, then there is a good possibility of a big score been put up which is what his team would want from him.

All-rounders like Siriwardana, Perera, Prasanna and Shanaka can go out and play the role of pinch-hitters as the pitches generally tend to favour batsmen in the T20s allowing these players to probably get away with their inconsistency.

#1 Sri Lanka can carry the positive momentum from their previous T20Is

The Sri Lankan side

If there is some positivity in Sri Lankan cricket of late, it’s their T20 performances. As a T20 team, they have managed to beat England and South Africa on their home soil.

When the chips are down, when the fans are doubting you and not supporting you as they used to, and general perception of the cricket in the country isn’t that good, it’s such things that can motivate a team.

They need to put the results of the ODIs against Zimbabwe and India behind them and take the positive momentum they have attained in T20s into this fixture.

Probably a new captain or someone who hasn’t featured in their recent defeats would have helped lead them with a less cluttered mind but nevertheless, this team should go in with a positive frame of mind and the seniors in the team must be upbeat and motivate the youngsters to play well.

Lot has been said about the recent performances of the Sri Lankan team, but if they stand any chance in bringing back some lost pride and more importantly get back the lost support, it is by beating India in a format they have managed to do well in recently.