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India and Sri Lanka will face off in the third Super Four match of the Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Stadium on September 6.
The first two games of the Super Four’s round of the tournament have produced impressive results, suggesting a stiff tussle for a top-two finish en route to the final. Sri Lanka, having been outplayed by Afghanistan in the tournament opener more than a week ago, bounced back strongly to trump the same opponents by four wickets in Sharjah on Saturday.
India were undone by Pakistan in a last-over finish in Dubai on Sunday, after having themselves achieved a similar result – albeit in a fairly low-scoring encounter – a week ago.
The tournament’s history suggests that India are more evenly matched with Sri Lanka than Pakistan, given that the Men in Blue and the island nation have won seven and five titles, respectively, as opposed to Pakistan’s two.
While the Sri Lankans have been short on experience – given the transitioning phase – suggesting them as a weaker line-up on paper, Dasun Shanaka’s men do have the ability to turn it around on their day, as they showed against Australia at the start of the season and in their resounding wins over Bangladesh and Afghanistan recently.
Virat Kohli’s return to form remains the biggest positive, and augurs well for a line-up that has adopted the ultra-aggressive approach. Ravindra Jadeja’s injury has somewhat disturbed the balance, calling for a forced change to bench a reliable finisher in Dinesh Karthik, whose services were clearly missed against Pakistan on Sunday.
Furthermore, Jadeja’s absence leaves little margin for error from the frontline bowlers and Hardik Pandya, especially while bowling second at a venue that has aided chasing.
A win for the Sri Lankans would almost help them sail through to the final, and would jeopardise India’s progress. India are now in a must-win situation, and that result would keep the competition evenly poised, setting it up for an exciting round of games.
Key players
After a run of low scores across formats in England, preceded by an underwhelming IPL 2022 season wherein he struck at a low 116 strike-rate, Virat Kohli is seemingly rediscovering his best at the ongoing Asia Cup. His 34-ball 35 against Pakistan a week ago offered some degree of assurance, and so did the supporting act of 59* off 44 against Hong Kong. His best though came in his most recent outing, wherein he struck 60 off 44 against a top-quality Pakistan attack and could have added more if not the untimely wickets at the back-end.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been India’s go to T20I bowler in 2022, having bagged 26 wickets at 16.81, while maintaining an impressive economy of 6.94. He has dismissed some of the most swashbuckling top-order batters in the period, including Jos Buttler and Nicholas Pooran (twice) each and Jason Roy and Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain being undone by a surprise bouncer in a 4/26 spell a week ago. He wasn’t quite at his best in India’s most recent outing, returning 1/40 from four overs, but he has the experience and expertise to bounce back strongly. He has bagged nine wickets from seven outings at an economy of 6.71 against Sri Lanka till date.
Kusal Mendis has been the torch-bearer of Sri Lanka’s somewhat unsettled top-order in the Asia Cup 2022. His 60 off 37 against Bangladesh was punctuated with reprieves, but that doesn’t take away from his brilliant pacing of the innings that kept his side in hunt despite a flurry of wickets at the back end. His 19-ball 36 set it up for a 176-run chase against Afghanistan, with the right-hander unsettling the likes of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman early in their spells. Mendis is highly adept on a technical front against pace and spin alike, making him a tough batter to contain when set, and the 27-year-old once again holds the key for Sri Lanka at the top.
The highest-ranked Sri Lanka bowler in the ICC T20 Bowling rankings (No.6), Wanindu Hasaranga would be Shanaka’s go-to bowler against a highly accomplished Indian batting line-up. His shrewd variations and the ability to bowl at any stage of the game make him a gun-bowler in the line-up, and he would also use his experience from the IPL 2022, wherein he had finished as the second-highest wicket-taker with 26 scalps. Hasaranga also adds great value with his lower-order batting.
Prediction
There’s not much to ignite a hope that the India vs Sri Lanka match-up on Tuesday would be a closely contested one. India lead 17-7 in head-to-head contests till date, and had registered a comprehensive 3-0 clean-sweep against the opponents earlier this year.
India begin the favourites once again, especially given the significance of the game following their defeat against Pakistan. Sri Lanka though, have the potential to turn it around on their day, and a slice of luck with the toss at a venue suited for chasing might just elevate their chances.
