India held extensive fitness tests before the Asia Cup in Alur. The squad had congregated to fine-tune their skill-set, formulate a strategy ahead of a decisive couple of months. With Asia Cup and ODI World Cup in the offing, the entire squad and reserves tested not just their batting, bowling and fielding but also their ability to sustain physically.
That will be put to test when India play Sri Lanka in the Super 4 clash on Tuesday. Over the past 10 days, India were sparsely tested against Pakistan and Nepal in the Asia Cup. Against Pakistan in Pallekele, the batters got a chance to test themselves. Meanwhile, against Nepal, the bowlers had a go for the most part.
But over the last 48 hours, India have had start-stop cricket against Pakistan in Colombo. With rain playing a key role in proceedings, the batters and bowlers were both put to test across Sunday and Monday. The challenge, however, comes on Tuesday with Sri Lanka the next Super Four opponents.
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A little over 12 hours after beating Pakistan by a staggering 228 runs, India will be in action once again at the R Premadasa Stadium. That begs the question, will India rotate the playing XI having given their net run rate (NRR) a massive boost already. Another win is likely to take them through to Sunday’s final.
Some of India’s burning questions before the tournament have been answered adequately. Can Ishan Kishan bat in the middle order if required? He answered it defiantly with 82-ball 81 runs against Pakistan in Pallekele.
Is KL Rahul fit? The wicketkeeper-batter came back after four months out and struck 111 runs from 106 balls while stitching a 223-run partnership alongside Virat Kohli. Not meant to play initially, he came in late as a substitute for Shreyas Iyer. After batting for a lengthy period, he returned to keep wickets for major part of Pakistan’s batting.
How about Jasprit Bumrah? The seamer had looked good in a couple of four-over spells against Ireland. Can he take it into the ODI format? The right-arm bowler answered it with a fiery opening spell that dismissed Imam-ul-Haq.
Some more questions could be answered against Sri Lanka: How about giving Suryakumar Yadav some action? Is Shreyas Iyer fit to return? Can Mohammed Shami and Prasidh Krishna come in to the XI?
Contrary to India’s situation, Sri Lanka have had a couple of days off to recuperate after their tightly contested win against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka remain unbeaten in the tournament after winning both their group matches.
“With a team like India, you never know, but obviously they are playing three days in a row,” assistant coach Naveed Nawaz told reporters. “We have got a bit of a break since the last game, so the boys are fresh for tomorrow. That can be good for us.”
“If we plan to play good cricket, if we execute our plans and go into the best version of ourselves in the middle against India — obviously the result will be favourable for us,” Nawaz said.
A name to watch out for is up-and-coming fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana. The 20-year-old has made an impression with his slinging action and toe-crushing yorkers similar to Lasith Malinga.
Pathirana shone for MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings as they captured the IPL title this year.
“I am sure MS and Chennai would have played a part in his development, but Pathirana is a product of Sri Lanka cricket,” said Nawaz, when asked about Dhoni’s part in brushing up Pathirana.
“He has played two Under-19 World Cups with us, he has been an identified product, and he has been in the development programmes of Sri Lanka Cricket.”
India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match date
The India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match will be played on 12 September 2023.
India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match time
The India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match will start at 3 PM IST. The toss will take place at 2.30 PM IST.
India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match venue
The India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match will be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match LIVE Streaming
The India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match will be broadcast live on Star Sports Network and the live streaming will be available on Disney+ Hotstar. The Asia Cup is streaming free on mobile on Disney+ Hotstar.
India vs Sri Lanka head-to-head
In the Asia Cup played in ODI format, India and Sri Lanka have played 19 matches against each other with Men in Blue winning nine and Sri Lanka securing 10 victories.
Overall in ODIs, India and Sri Lanka have played 165 games with India winning 96, losing 57, 11 finishing without a result and one as a tie.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (travelling reserve).
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka(c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Kusal Perera, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan, Dushan Hemantha
