Nidahas Trophy: Bruised Sri Lanka to take on resurgent Indians in round two

Erasing their opening defeat in the Nidahas Trophy with a comfortable win against Bangladesh, India are set to face hosts Sri Lanka again come Monday. Express takes you through what to expect from this clash...

Open-ended question

India seem to be having their own version of a yin-yang equilibrium with their openers. On one hand is Shikhar Dhawan, whose white-ball returns this year have been swelling. And on the other is stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma, who has only 297 runs to show this year in all formats. The Men in Blue will be hoping for the right-hander to break his rut.

Time to get a leggie up

Yuzvendra Chahal was the tormentor-in-chief with the ball last year against the same opposition in the same format in India, when he’d claimed two back-to-back four-fors. The at-the-moment spin spearhead has had two decent outings this time around, and he will be intent on stamping his wrist-spinning dominance on Sri Lanka yet again.

Trying to be a Raina-maker

After a protracted professional lull, Suresh Raina seems to be back for good in the limited-over scheme of things, when taking into consideration his recent Grade C contract. The left-hander seemed to be rediscovering his touch during the T20Is in South Africa, but is still in the process of finding his feet in Sri Lanka.

Chances galore

With the India think-tank considering the Nidahas Trophy as a laboratory for their combination experimentation, expect one more new face — read Deepak Hooda, maybe — to step onto the field. The likes of those who’ve already had a taste, like Rishabh Pant and Vijay Shankar, will need to focus on giving the management some returns.

PITCH & CONDITIONS

Batsmen might end up ruling the roost at the R Premadasa Stadium. Thunderstorms, though, have been predicted for the later part of the day.

Dhawan’s limited-over average this year. He has scored 611 so far.