Sri Lanka vs India 2017: India's probable playing XI for one-off T20I

India's tour of Sri Lanka has been a joy for the Indian fans as the Men in Blue have dominated the hosts throughout the tournament.

They won the Test series 3-0 and followed it up with a 5-0 win in the ODI series. Apart from a few moments in which Sri Lanka actually put up a fight, the series belonged to Team India who broke several world records in the process of securing a whitewash.

After two consecutive clean sweeps, both the teams will meet for the only T20 encounter at the R. Premadasa Stadium tomorrow.

India will aim at returning home with an unblemished record whereas Sri Lanka will try to redeem themselves and end the series on a high. This will be their final chance to put up a fight.

As India gear up for the final battle, here is the predicted XI:

Top-order

India's top order boasts of one of the most reliable openers in world cricket. Although Rohit Sharma's presence at one end is certain, his partner is yet to be decided.

In the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli is likely to promote himself to the second opener's position and execute an effective partnership with Sharma for the first wicket. The reason being Ajinkya Rahane's failure in the fifth ODI.

Rahane was dismissed for five runs in 17 balls. Since this is the only T20 encounter between the two teams, India might not be in favour of experimenting with the side.

Moreover, Kohli's current form bodes well for Team India.

The captain scored his 30th ODI century in the last match, moving to second place on the list of highest number of ODI centuries, only behind Sachin Tendulkar.

In the fourth ODI, both Sharma and Kohli scored centuries and put up a brilliant partnership after the fall of the first wicket. They will look to give India a strong start in the final match of the series.

Middle-order

Dhoni was not dismissed even once in the entire ODI series

Walking in at No. 3 will be Manish Pandey. With a strike rate of 112.36 in T20Is, Pandey makes for an obvious choice. His performances in the Indian Premier League advocate for his brilliance in the shorter format.

This right-handed batsman can be trusted to add balance to the middle-order.

At No. 4, KL Rahul is expected to slot in. He was in brilliant form during the Test series, equalling the world record of seven consecutive half-centuries when he managed 85 runs in the third Test. He had a poor run in the ODIs but will be a great option for the third wicket.

Former Indian skipper and the most dependable batsman of this series, Mahendra Singh Dhoni will come in at no. 5. His patient and calculated batting saved India on three occasions in the ODI series. He scored 162 runs in the series without being dismissed in any match.

All-rounders

Hardik Pandya is arguably one of the best Indian all-rounders

Hardik Pandya will walk in at No. 5. He has been impressive with the ball during the tour thus far, giving the Sri Lankan batsmen nightmares and picking up wickets consistently.

However, he failed to find form with the bat. He played four matches in the ODI series in which he could gather merely 19 runs although he was not required to bat in some of the matches.

He will be followed by Kedar Jadhav. Jadhav too had a similarly poor run with the bat until the fifth ODI. After his brilliant 50 in the last match, it is highly unlikely that he would be dropped from the team. Moreover, he has been brilliant with the ball and that too will work in his favour. He will only have to be careful against Akila Dananjaya who dismissed him cheaply in two consecutive matches.

Pacers

Bhuvneshwar Kumar played a crucial knock in the second ODI

India's bowling line-up put on a show in the Test and ODI series against the hosts. This tour made the world acknowledge the brilliance of these bowlers as they dismantled Sri Lanka's batting line-up in every single match.

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah was the most destructive Indian bowler on this tour. He picked fifteen wickets in the ODI series and established a record of the highest wickets taken by a bowler in a five-match bilateral series.

With 120 wickets in the T20 format, Bumrah will look to replicate his magical spells.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's performance in the last match against Sri Lanka is enough to justify his presence in the T20 squad. His five-wicket haul left the hosts in disarray. Moreover, his crucial partnership with Dhoni in the second ODI saved the day for India. He scored an unbeaten 53 and successfully built a 100-run partnership with Dhoni.

Spinners

Kuldeep Yadav took crucial wickets in the ODI series

At No. 10. Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav will look to dominate the Sri Lankan batsmen like he did in the previous games.

He has 50 wickets to his name in the 40 T20s that he has played. His performances in the last two ODIs also suggest that he is ready for the big stage.

Yuzvendra Chahal is the final name on the teamsheet. He has 107 wickets to his name in T20s. He will be essential for the team in order to restrict the Lankan batsmen to a low total.

He took five wickets in four matches in the recently concluded ODI series. Chahal will aim at bagging more wickets in this match in order to justify his selection.