India and Sri Lanka meet each other in the final Super Four match at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday, September 26. India, led by Suryakumar Yadav and coached by former batter Gautam Gambhir, have been unstoppable so far in this tournament. They have won all the matches they have played so far, three in the group stage and two in the Super Fours. Sri Lanka’s fortunes, meanwhile, have contrasted with those of India. The Lankan Lions won all the matches they played in the group stage, only to lose all their clashes in the Super Fours. Now, Charith Asalanka’s men have been knocked out of the tournament.
India, who have already made it to the final, will look to experiment somewhat in this fixture. The biggest change they will be keen on making to their XI is including Arshdeep Singh in place of Jasprit Bumrah. The latter, who is an all-format player for India, has been at the forefront of their bowling unit for several months now and may need a bit of a break before the upcoming home Test series against the West Indies. India’s batting unit may not see much of a change, with the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill expected to dominate proceedings inside the powerplay again.
For Sri Lanka, Pathum Nissanka has starred with the bat, garnering 154 runs in five matches, and will have to shoulder most of the responsibility in this fixture. He is known to play well on the rise and use the drive and cut effectively against seamers. However, the likes of Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, and Kusal Mendis also have to step up and take the lead against the Indian bowlers. If Lanka do not make use of the powerplay, they will not be able to compete alongside India on a level footing. The Men in Blue have a habit of squeezing their opponents under pressure whenever they start to dominate proceedings.
Predicted Teams
IND: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
SL: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (c), Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara.
Key Players
Abhishek Skarma (IND): Opener Abhishek Sharma has brought a new brand of fearless batting in this tournament, and he will be hard to stop here as well. The Punjab batter is a free-flowing strokemaker who does not shy away from throwing his bat at balls pitched full and wide. His unique technique of not taking his feet towards the ball gives him the leverage to get under it and loft it over the ropes for big hits. He is currently the highest scorer of this tournament with 248 runs.
Pathum Nissanka (SL): Pathum Nissanka is Sri Lanka’s leading run-getter in this tournament with 154 runs. He will be expected to take on the Indian seamers in this game and then rotate the strike effectively against the spinners. Nissanka has the ability to go hard inside the powerplay, when the fielding restrictions are on, and then anchor his innings in such a way that the other big hitters in the side play alongside him and continue to dominate opposition bowlers whenever they bowl looseners.
Match Prediction
India are the favourites to win this game, and we expect them to do so comfortably. Sri Lanka neither have the quality nor the experience to compete alongside India, and this is expected to be an easy outing for Yadav’s men. India appear to have covered all their bases in this tournament, and are the favourites to lift the trophy as well. Sri Lanka’s sole way of breaking this Indian lineup is by using spin effectively and not giving away too many runs in the middle overs.
