India will clash with Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the three-match series in Pallekele in Kandy on Sunday. India will be led by Suryakumar Yadav while Sri Lanka is being captained by Charith Asalanka. India are the T20 World Cup champions and are also ranked number 1 in the ICC T20I rankings.

Disclaimer: All stats updated till before the start of the IND-SL T20I series

LAST 5 MATCHES

INDIA - LWWWW
SRI LANKA - WLLAW

LIKELY PLAYING XIs

India are likely to go in with two pacers in Arshdeep and Siraj and three spinners. Gill and Jaiswal will be the openers while Rinku Singh will be the finisher. Pant may get the nod over Samson. Sri Lanka also has a very powerful batting line-up comprising Kusal Mendis, Avishka Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal and Pathum Nissanka. The main threat in the bowling department will be Theekshana and Hasaranga.

India likely XI

Batters - Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh
All-Rounders - Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel
Wicketkeeper - Rishabh Pant
Bowlers - Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj

Sri Lanka likely XI

Batters - Avishka Fernando, Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nissanka
All-Rounders - Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka
Wicketkeeper - Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal
Bowlers - Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Binura Fernando

Statistical Performance (India)

1. RINKU SINGH
Rinku Singh has had a great start to his T20I career and blasted 416 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 176.3. He has the ability to clear the ropes at will.

RINKU SINGH IN T20Is
INNINGS - 15
RUNS - 416
AVERAGE - 83.2
STRIKE RATE - 176.3
50/100 - 2/0

2. SURYAKUMAR YADAV
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav is one of the greatest batters in T20I cricket history with an aggregate of 2340 runs in 65 innings at an average of 43.3 and strike rate of 167.7.

SURYAKUMAR YADAV IN T20Is
INNINGS - 65
RUNS - 2340
AVERAGE - 43.3
STRIKE RATE - 167.7
50/100 - 19/4

Players Who Can Make a Difference (India)

1. YASHASVI JAISWAL
Yashasvi Jaiswal has had a phenomenal start to his T20I career and will be destructive against the new ball in the powerplay. He has scored 643 runs in 19 innings at a strike rate of 162.8.

2. ARSHDEEP SINGH
Arshdeep Singh swings the new ball and is a specialist in the death overs. He is a big wicket-taker in T20I cricket and has returned with 79 dismissals in just 52 innings at a brilliant strike rate of 13.6.

Statistical Performance (Sri Lanka)

1. KUSAL MENDIS
Kusal Mendis was in fine form in the recently concluded Lanka Premier League and has an aggregate of 1629 runs in 67 innings at a strike rate of 134.4.

KUSAL MENDIS IN T20Is

INNINGS - 67

RUNS - 1629

AVERAGE - 25.06

STRIKE RATE - 134.4

50/100 - 14/0

2. MAHEESH THEEKSHANA

Maheesh Theekshana can still bamboozle the best in the world with his mystery spin. He will be crucial for Sri Lanka in the powerplay. The off spinner has an excellent economy rate of 6.7 in T20I cricket!

MAHEESH THEEKSHANA IN T20Is

INNINGS - 49

WICKETS - 45

STRIKE RATE - 24.7

ECONOMY RATE - 6.7

AVERAGE - 27.66

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Sri Lanka)

1. MATHEESHA PATHIRANA
Pathirana is a specialist in the T20 format and a big wicket-taker with 93 dismissals in 63 encounters at a brilliant strike rate of 13.8. He has the ability to bowl yorkers at will.

2. WANINDU HASARANGA

Wanindu Hasaranga is a brilliant wicket-taker in T20I cricket with a total of 110 wickets in just 66 innings. He will be the playmaker for Sri Lanka in the middle-overs.

TEAM HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

India has dominated Sri Lanka in T20Is and won 19 of the 29 matches between the two countries.

LAST 5 T20Is: India won 3, Sri Lanka won 2, No Result 0
ALL T20Is: Matches 29, India won 19, Sri Lanka won 9, No Result 1

VENUE AND PITCH
The Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy has hosted 7 T20Is since 2016 with the team batting first winning 3 of these encounters. The team chasing has won 4 matches. The captain who has won the toss has elected to bat first on 5 occasions and chase on 2 instances. The team which has won the toss has won three matches for a win probability of 42.86%.

The average score batting first in Kandy since 2016 is 179 suggesting that it is a high-scoring venue. The average score chasing in the 7 matches in this time-frame is 159. The wicket will be good for batters but will also assist both pace and spin. The fast bowlers have a better strike rate in Pallekele but the spinners have been more economical.

MATCH PREDICTION
India start heavy favourites. They are the world champions and have a very talented and powerful batting unit. Sri Lanka too have a good batting line-up but if they want to challenge India then Hasaranga and Theekshana will have to deliver with the ball. Based on form and the relative strength of both teams, India have a 68% chance of winning the encounter.

FANTASY XI

And finally, this is our Fantasy XI. We have 6 players from India and 5 from Sri Lanka. Our batters include Jaiswal, Nissanka aur Suryakumar Yadav whereas our all-rounders are Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Hasaranga. The bowlers will be Pathirana, Theekshana and Arshdeep Singh. We have two designated wicket-keeper batters in Pant and Kusal Mendis.

Our backup players include Rinku Singh as batter, Ravi Bishnoi as bowler and Washington Sundar as all-rounder.

The captain of the fantasy XI is Wanindu Hasaranga while the vice-captain is Suryakumar Yadav.

Fantasy XI

Wicketkeeper: RISHABH PANT, KUSAL MENDIS

Batters: YASHASVI JAISWAL, PATHUM NISSANKA, SURYAKUMAR YADAV (VC)

All-rounders: HARDIK PANDYA, WANINDU HASARANGA (C), AXAR PATEL

Bowlers: MATHEESHA PATHIRANA, MAHEESH THEEKSHANA, ARSHDEEP SINGH

BACKUP PLAYERS:
BATTER - RINKU SINGH
BOWLER - RAVI BISHNOI
ALL-ROUNDER - WASHINGTON SUNDAR