Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal won the toss and elected to field first in the opening match of the Nidahas Trophy Tri-nation T20 tournament here at the R Premadasa Stadium.  The tournament will see hosts Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh battling out twice in the first round before the March 18 final. Sri Lanka has brought in Kusal Perera and Nuwan Pradeep into the playing XI after missing the recent tour in Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal(w/c), Kusal Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik(w), Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal

Rohit: "Not worried about losing the toss. Looks a good pitch, we need to come out and play good cricket for 40 overs. I want to start the series on a fresh note. It's a perfect opportunity for the youngsters to showcase their skills. They have done well in the domestic tournaments."

Chandimal: "We are bowling first. Looks a good pitch. We need to restrict them and get the total in the second half. We are playing seven batters and four bowlers."

Resurgent Sri Lanka aiming to tighten the noose  Picture by Ishara S Kodikara/AFP

by Champika Fernando

On a high after beating Bangladesh across all formats, a resurgent Sri Lanka will be aiming to tighten the noose around a starless Indian outfit when they square off in the opening match of the Nidahas Trophy T20 series starting on Tuesday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. 
The tournament will also be contested by Bangladesh where each team will play each other twice to decide the finalists. The final will be on March 18. 
Hosts are without regular skipper Angelo Mathews, who has been sidelined on medical advice after the recurrence of a hamstring injury in January but the squad comprises some exciting prospects daring to go for the kill. 
The exclusion of Niroshan Dickwella--a wicket-keeper batsman--has triggered a debate about whether the selectors have been too harsh on one of country’s brightest prospects in white-ball cricket. Dickewella has scored just 249 runs off 13 innings with a single half-century (68 against South South Africa) and this may justify the selectors' decision to pick Kusal Janith Perera, another wicket-keeper batsman. But Dickwella did have quite an impact in 2017 even earning praise from Indian skipper Virat Kholi for his aggressive approach. 

Kusal Mendis has been in great nick since returning to the side, having missed the Indian series. He is likely to open batting with Danushka Gunathilaka. Upul Tharanga, another opener, is likely to fill up the number three spot as he did during the two-match T20 series against Bangladesh. 
Dinesh Chandimal, who will lead the side in Mathews’ absence, is yet to score a half-century in nearly one-and-a-half years (the last was against Australia in September 2016). Under him, however, the team has managed to salvage some pride after a dreadful 2017. Batsman Dhananjaya de Silva has also been drafted into the side on the basis of his performances in other formats, but it remains to be seen whether he can break into the playing XI. 
Sri Lanka will rely, too, on the all-round abilities of Thisara Perera and Dasun Shanaka, players who are tailor-made for the shorter version, given their ability to clear the ropes at will. They also have the competency to send down useful medium pacers. Spinning all-rounder Jeewan Mendis will add experience to the side with support from the two specialist spinners, Akila Dananjaya and Amila Aponso. 
Dananjaya, in particular, has been in good form since his return to the side last year. He will be the first choice spinner in Sri Lanka’s quest to win the Tri-series title. Nuwan Pradeep and Dushmantha Chameera have returned in place of the injured pair of Shehan Madushanka and Asela Gunaratne. They will bolster the pace attack led by Suranga Lakmal. 
India has enjoyed immense success in T20s against Sri Lanka during the last six months, winning each of the four matches played (one in Si Lanka and three in India) but the ‘mighty’ visitors are without several key performers in their ranks, including skipper Virat Kohli and former skipper MS Dhoni. 
Among others who are being rested are Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, all of whom are some of India’s prized T20 players. 
This will give Sri Lanka a chance to continue the momentum and intensity they displayed in Bangladesh into the Tri-series and put a smile on the faces of dejected home fans. 
India have been rampant in recent months and take on the short series after a hugely successful tour to South Africa and will look to continue to their great form during the series to win the title. They won a six-match ODI series 5-1 and a three-match T20I series 2-1. 
Bangladesh on the other hand, have not been in great form after losing the Tri-Nation series, Test series and T20I series to Sri Lanka but the return of skipper Shakib-al-Hasan will definitely bolster their chances. All eyes, however, will be on Hasan’s spins and the seam bowling of Mustafizur Rahman who has caught Sri Lankan batsmen off-guard many times during the recent series. 

Squads:
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (Capt), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Jeewan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana, Akila Dananjaya, Amila Aponso, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Dhananjaya de Silva 

India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj, Rishabh Pant (wk) 

 

Schedule 
1st match: March 6 (Tuesday) - India vs Sri Lanka 7.00 pm 
2nd match: March 8 (Thursday) - Bangladesh vs India 7.00 pm 
3rd match: March 10 (Saturday) - Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 7.00 pm 
4th match: March 12 (Monday) - Sri Lanka vs India 7.00 
5th match: March 14 (Wednesday) - Bangladesh vs India 7.00 pm 
6th match: march 16 (Friday) - Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 7.00 pm 
Final: march 18 (Sunday) - tbc vs tbc 7.00 pm