India will face Sri Lanka in the 2022 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium tonight.
Earlier, India lost to Pakistan, marking their first defeat in the 2022 Asia Cup, where Pakistan's Mohammad Nawaz was named the Man of the Match for his excellent performance. Previously, India won over Pakistan in their first league stage game on August 28.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka proved to be a capable team in their match against Afghanistan, outclassing them by four wickets in the Super 4 opener.
Team India comprises KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, with Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper, and Rohit Sharma as the captain.
On the other hand, Team Sri Lanka comprises Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasranga de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, along with Kusal Mendis as the wicketkeeper, and Dasun Shanaka as the captain.
Issues on Team India
After the defeat to Pakistan, India head coach Rahul Dravid said his team would play at full strength for the rest of the tournament. Players such as Rahul, Sharma, and Kohli have received criticism for not playing as well as expected, despite having been rested for a significantly long time.
“There’s not going to be any workload management over the next three or four days, unless of course it’s forced upon us like—for example, Jadeja,” Dravid said.
“Other than that, no we’re looking at every single game to win it, try and win this tournament and do the best that we can. We’ll have time after that to manage the workloads. From now on leading into the World Cup, we really want to be playing our best squad as and when possible.”
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out from the rest of the Asia Cup due to a knee injury. It was reported that he might also miss the upcoming T20 World Cup since he would be undergoing surgery. A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official said that Jadeja was under their supervision.
With the absence of Jadeja, Harshal Patel, and Jasprit Bumrah, India will have limited options in the match against Sri Lanka, preventing the team from experimenting.
Sri Lanka confident after win over Afghanistan
So far, Sri Lanka has won two matches in the Asia Cup. They chased down 184 in a group match against Bangladesh, and 176 in their Super 4 match against Afghanistan, where Nissanka, Mendis, Gunathilaka, and Rajapaksa hit quick 30s against Afghan player Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
After their win over Afghanistan, Sri Lanka will face India with full confidence. Shanaka has carried out the team since the match against Bangladesh. However, he said the victory against Afghanistan was a team effort.
“It’s the belief of the dressing room. As a team, we believe we can chase anything on these kind of wickets. When chasing, we have a clear idea of how the wicket behaves. Boys executed the plan very well – Fernando, Hasaranga, Theekshana. Very pleased to see how Mendis and Pathum got started. And the others followed” said Shanaka.
