Last Updated on 3 months by Charbel Coorey

SL vs IND 3rd T20 Dream11 Prediction Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | SL vs IND 3rd T20 Dream11 Prediction Today | Sri Lanka vs India 3rd T20I Key Players | Colombo Pitch Report

It was a T20I buildup like no other. In fact, it was one of the most chaotic buildups to any cricket match ever. Unsure of whether the match would actually go ahead, Sri Lanka prevailed in a tough contest yesterday against an India side decimated by isolation.

Krunal Pandya tested positive for COVID-19, and seven others deemed as close contacts were ruled out of the remainder of the series. This includes this deciding third T20I, where the Indians will once again play with a depleted batting lineup that may once again force the top order to play with more caution than freedom.

On a sluggish pitch, it was Sri Lanka’s middle and death overs’ effort that got them out of trouble, with India’s fielders making crucial mistakes. Dhananjaya de Silva and C Karunaratne struck crucial blows to see the home side over the line in a tough chase, but the Sri Lankans will be hoping for a more clinical display this time around.

Given India’s fighting spirit and Sri Lanka’s desire to win the series, this third T20I shapes up to be another interesting contest.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

Sri Lanka:

• Dhananjaya de Silva overcame his struggles against slower bowling to produce a crucial player of the match performance in the second T20I (40* off 34 balls). No current SL player has more runs than de Silva in T20Is on this ground (7 inns, 204 runs, avg. 34.00, SR 109.67), plus he has a decent record against India in T20Is (4 inns, 123 runs, avg. 41, SR 132.25).
• Avishka Fernando has a key role to play at the top. Sri Lanka will be hoping he can finally perform in a format he’s struggled in throughout his career (18 inns, 238 runs, avg. 13.22, SR 97.54, 0 50s).
• Wanindu Hasaranga will no doubt be a threat in these spin-friendly conditions. He has taken 11 wickets in five matches across the West Indies and India campaigns played on surfaces conducive to spin.
• Akila Dananjaya produced one of his best performances in T20Is vs India. He took 2/29 in the second T20I, which is as many wickets as he took in his previous seven T20Is against the Indians. His experience of this ground (19 T20s, 22 wickets) can count for plenty.
• Dushmantha Chameera has picked up seven wickets in his last three T20Is, and 13 in 11 matches overall vs India. He will be key at both crunch stages (powerplay and death) of the innings.

India:

• The 40s is a common theme for Shikhar Dhawan. He averages 41.66 vs Sri Lanka, 40.57 on this ground and 43.00 in this series.
• No player has more runs than Dhawan’s 375 in IND-SL T20Is. India will be hoping Shikhar produces a big score with India’s batting lineup decimated by isolation.
• Ruturaj Gaikwad (21 off 18 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (29 off 23 balls) looked promising before getting out. Both have shown terrific form in the IPL (Gaikwad scored 65, 33, 75 and 4 in his last four matches and Padikkal has 668 IPL runs with six 50+ scores in 21 matches).
• Will Sanju Samson deliver or disappoint? With so many players missing, Samson can make a claim for India to continue to persist with him going forward. He has the big innings in him, but will today be the day?
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/22 and 1/21 this series) will be crucial in both the powerplay and death overs. His slower ball will be handy on such pitches. Plus, given he is batting at six, he also has a crucial role to play with the bat.
• Kuldeep Yadav, on average, takes two wickets per innings vs Sri Lanka (6 inns, 12 wickets, avg. 15.33, econ. 7.66, SR 12).

Stats and Facts

• Sri Lanka will be looking to break a run of five straight T20I series losses. Their last bilaterial T20I series win was against Pakistan in 2019.
• Dasun Shanaka has a bowling strike rate of just 13.7 against India (seven wickets).
• India have won 11 of the last 13 completed T20Is vs Sri Lanka. However, they have never faced circumstances like this.

Possible Playing 11

With Charith Asalanka in isolation, Sri Lanka could look at playing the same XI that won the second T20I yesterday.

Sri Lanka: 1. Avishka Fernando, 2. Minod Bhanuka (wk), 3. Sadeera Samarawickrama, 4. Dasun Shanaka (c), 5. Dhananjaya de Silva, 6. Wanindu Hasaranga, 7. Ramesh Mendis, 8. Chamika Karunaratne, 9. Isuru Udana, 10. Dushmantha Chameera, 11. Akila Dananjaya

India do have the likes of Sandeep Warrier in the squad. According to reports, Navdeep Saini has been ruled out with injury. Sandeep Warrier is likely to replace him.

India: 1. Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2. Shikhar Dhawan (c), 3. Devdutt Padikkal, 4. Sanju Samson (wk), 5. Nitish Rana, 6. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 7. Sandeep Warrier, 8. Kuldeep Yadav, 9. Chetan Sakariya, 10. Rahul Chahar, 11. Varun Chakravarthy

R Premadasa Stadium Colombo Pitch Report and Weather

The surface was slow and quite sluggish in the second T20I. The match will be played on a fresh pitch, but given the evidence so far in this series, spin and slower balls into the surface is hard to get away.

The chasing team has won nine of the last 12 T20Is on this ground, with the average first innings score 160. Any total in that region here will be a challenging chase in what should be a full game thanks to clear weather.

Dream11 Prediction

Option 1:

Option 2:

Match Prediction

Another competitive match is on the cards, but India need a lot from their top four to stand a strong chance. Sri Lanka start as favourites and should win given India’s decimated batting.