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India aim to whitewash Sri Lanka in third T20I (Preview)
Mumbai, Dec 23 (IANS) After overpowering Sri Lanka to clinch the series 2-0, India will look to continue their winning streak and clean sweep the series in the third Twenty20 International (T20I) at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.
On a triumphant run, India have been flamboyant in their approach to outclass Sri Lanka by 93 and 88 runs in the first and second encounters respectively. The hosts will hope to repeat the same form and outplay the visitors in the dead rubber.
Ranked fourth in the T20I rankings, India will bank on their fearless batting led by skipper Rohit Sharma and fellow opener Lokesh Rahul who have looked on top of their game.
Supporting them will be batsmen Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik who have the calibre to demolish the Sri Lanka which has failed to look up to the mark.
In the bowling department, pacer Jasprit Bumrah — who currently tops the T20I bowlers list — will spearhead the unit along side fellow new ball seamer Jaydev Unadkat.
However, wrist-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who have caused plenty of trouble to Sri Lanka throughout the series, will once again remain the key to pick crucial wickets.
For Sri Lanka, experienced all-rounder Angelo Mathews has added to the worries for the side after being ruled out of the final rubber following a hamstring injury in the previous match.
The visitors will however hope top order batsmen Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga and Kusal Perera to play match winning knocks to salvage their side some pride and consolidate a victory before returning home.
The bowling, which has looked rather ineffective for Sri Lanka will need to re-form strategies with the likes of skipper Thisara Perera, Nuwan Pradeep and Akila Dananjaya to try and trouble the formidable India batting line-up.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Lokesh Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat.
Sri Lanka: Thisara Perera (c), Upul Tharanga, Kusal Janith Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Asela Gunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dasun Shanaka, Chaturanga de Silva, Sachith Pathirana, Dananjaya De Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Dusmantha Chameera.
–IANS
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.