Shikhar Dhawan os the top scorer in the tri-series so far. (Source: AP)
India face Sri Lanka in the fourth match of the Nidahas Trophy on Monday. Sri Lanka come into the match after being stunned by Bangladesh on Saturday. They set a target of 215 for Bangladesh to chase and the latter reached the total with seven balls to spare largely thanks to Mushfique Rahim’s 72 off 35 balls. Sri Lanka are still the team placed top in the tri-series table because of their superior net run rate.
Sri Lanka themselves had stunned India in the opening match of the series. Despite the fact that India have rested several key players, including captain and ace batsman Virat Kohli, Sri Lanka’s poor recent form made them favourites in the match. But the hosts pipped the favourites, chasing down 175 with more than an over remaining. Shikhar Dhawan has far been the star performer for India, having scored 145 runs in the first two matches. Perera comes second with 140 and has been pretty much a focal point for Sri Lanka so far.
India have a few issues to be sorted out in their batting line up. Captain Rohit Sharma’s dry run from South Africa has continued into this series and India will need him to fire. Rishabh Pant has thus far failed to fire and, with someone like KL Rahul waiting in the wings, he will be required to show hs worth if he gets selected. India also made a number of errors on the field in the match against Bangladesh. At the same time, Suresh Raina’s return and Manish Pandey’s consistency with the bat augurs well for the visitors. Jaydev Unadkat has shown so far that he can hold his own at the international level. Dhawan’s consistency with the bat means that dismissing him early could be the difference between victory and defeat for Sri Lanka.
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