India vs Sri Lanka, 1st T20: Preview, predicted XI, match prediction, live streaming, weather forecast, and pitch report

India are going into the T20I series against Sri Lanka as the overwhelming favorites, given the amount of experience that they possess in both the batting and bowling departments in comparison to the visiting Sri Lankan team.

Rohit Sharma has been rested and he has been one of India’s premier batsmen in the shortest format of the game in recent times, but Shikhar Dhawan is back in the Indian fold to replace him at the top of the order.

India’s bowling has been heavily strengthened by the arrival of Jasprit Bumrah who has completely recovered from a stress fracture.

Sri Lanka have also got a couple of experienced players in their squad, but a majority of the squad is young and it might be an uphill task for them to face the challenges posed by India which is one of the best white-ball teams in the world at the moment.

However, the Sri Lankan team can take heart from the fact that a comparatively less-experienced Bangladeshi side were able to compete against India in a T20I series a couple of months back.

The Indian conditions won’t be too difficult for the Sri Lankan players. The pitches won’t be quick and bouncy as the ones they recently had to counter in Australia, but the visitors will be up against the players of a very high standard.

Match Details:

Date: January 5, 2020 (Sunday)

Time: 07:00 PM (IST)

Venue: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati

Weather forecast

There are chances of scattered rains in Guwahati on the 5th of January. The humidity will be as high as 84%. However, the good thing is that it is expected to be windy and the wind might blow the rain away.

The spectators will want to see a full game as the North-Eastern part of India doesn’t get to host international matches on a regular basis.

Pitch report

The Barsapara Cricket Stadium is known for hosting high-scoring games as the pitch is flat and the boundaries are not the biggest in the world.

Batting second is always an advantage in T20I cricket especially when you are playing on flat pitches and you don’t have a clear idea what the par score is, batting first.

With the rain forecasted as well, batting second becomes an obvious choice as the Duckworth-Lewis rule also makes it slightly easier for the chasing teams, in terms of how they need to go about their innings.

Probable XI:

India

Shikhar Dhawan.

Shikhar Dhawan will open with KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer will bat at no. 4, Rishabh Pant and Shivam Dube will be India’s finishers, while Ravindra Jadeja will fill the all-rounder’s slot at no. 7.

Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah and Navdeep Saini will be the pace trio the hosts are likely to go with, while Chahal might be preferred over Kuldeep as the specialist spinner in the XI.

India predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka will go with Gunathilaka and Dickwella upfront, with Kusal Perera batting at no. 3. Angelo Mathews, who has returned to the Sri Lankan T20I squad after a gap of more than a year, might bat at no. 4 to give the batting line-up a bit of steadiness.

The visitors might play the wrist spinning duo of Hasaranga and Sandakan together despite the fact that the Indian batsmen are very good against spin.

Sri Lanka predicted XI: Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews , Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Lakshan Sandakan, Lasith Malinga (C)

Match Prediction

Given the big gulf of experience between the two sides, it shouldn’t be too difficult for India to get the better of Sri Lanka in their home conditions. The prediction is for India to win the match and go 1-0 up in the series.

Live Broadcast and streaming details

Star Sports network will broadcast the 1st T20I between India and Sri Lanka on four of its channels, Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD 1, Star Sports Hindi and Star Sports Hindi 1. The match will also be streamed live on the android app Hotstar.

Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga.