India vs Sri Lanka Prediction & Betting Tips - ICC Mens T20I Series

Prediction published on 01/01/2023, 15:00  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 01/01/2023 at 15:21 in Cricket Predictions

The Sri Lankan cricket team will start the new year by making the short trip North to take on India in the first of three T20I's on the 3rd of January at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The last time these two giants of the sub-continent locked horns was in the Asia Cup, where Sri Lanka came out victorious before going on to lift the trophy. However, following their Asia Cup triumph, Sri Lanka had an underwhelming T20I World Cup Super 12 campaign. They only managed to record two wins against Ireland and Afghanistan in their five matches which saw them bow out in the group stages of the tournament. The visitors are currently ranked 8th in the ICC World T20I standings, and a series win should see them move past West Indies, who are currently in 7th. Dasun Shanaka will lead out the Sri Lankans for this series, while Karunaratne and Madushan will all be expected to return to the squad and be in contention to make the starting lineup. It's rare that you get to see the ICC's top-ranked T20 batsman go up against the top-ranked bowler, but that's what we will likely get to witness in this series. Suryakumar Yadav currently tops the ICC's T20 batting charts for this year, while the ever-dependable Wanindu Hasaranga leads the way among bowlers,  and a potential showdown between the two will make for a fascinating contest. 

India comes into this encounter with little turnaround time from their test series win against Bangladesh, which wrapped up on Christmas day. The Indian side will not have forgotten the defeat to their visitors that knocked them out of the Asian Cup and will no doubt be looking for revenge on home soil. The hosts looked much better in the T20I World Cup Super 12, qualifying on top of group 2 with four wins in five matches but were comprehensively beaten by England in the semi-final, who eventually went on to be crowned champions. India is currently the number one ranked side in the ICC T20I standings and will need to put on a dominant display in order to open up some daylight between themselves and England, who are only marginally behind in second. The last time Sri Lanka toured India in 2021/22, it proved to be a difficult one for the visitors, as India came away with a 3-0 clean sweep. Rohit Sharma will likely not be involved as he is still recovering from a thumb injury, which means that Hardik Pandya will be in charge, while KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are both expected to be rested. Rajat Tripathi, Rahul Patidar, and the explosive Ravindra Jadeja will all be chomping at the bit and are the front runners to deputize in their absence.