India vs Sri Lanka | Predicted XI for the second T20I in Indore

Here is our predicted XI for the second ODI in Indore.

Openers

Rohit Sharma – Rohit will open the innings for the hosts and after a disappointing knock of 17 runs will hope to regain his form for the remainder of the series. In the seven T20I matches that he has played in 2017, he has crossed the 20-run barrier just once. Ahead of the South Africa tour, the stand-in captain will want to regain his mojo starting with the T20 in Indore. 

KL Rahul - In the absence of regular opener, Shikhar Dhawan, this T20 series offers a great chance for the Karnataka opener to showcase his talent on the biggest stage. Rahul didn’t miss his opportunity as he scored an impressive 61 runs in Cuttack which laid the foundation for a big total and proved his ability to be a match-winner in the shortest format of the game.

Middle-order

Shreyas Iyer – The 23-year-old, who has made his debut in the T20I against New Zealand in Delhi, will feature in the playing XI again after his scores of 88 and 65 in the last two matches. And when he got a chance in the first game of the T20I series he contributed another 24 runs.

MS Dhoni – There is no doubt about the inclusion of the former Indian skipper who played a knock of 39 runs off 22 balls which helped the hosts reach a good total of 180 runs. He also showed his skills behind the stumps as he was involved in four dismissals. 

Manish Pandey – Pandey has played 13 T20Is and 22 ODIs for the Indian cricket team in his career so far scoring 206 and 432 runs respectively. While his inconsistency is a bit questionable, he supported Dhoni well in the first game and he was the man who started the big-hitting against Sri Lanka. 

Dinesh Karthik – Even though Karthik did not get a chance to swing his bat in the first T20, his unbeaten 26-run knock in the last ODI game of the series holds him in good stead. He will be the player that India can rely on the absence of the big stars and with no real batting talent in the squad his place in the team is hardly in question.

Hardik Pandya – The all-rounder is one of the most reliable players in the squad and has the capability to play power shots and can also grab wickets at a crucial time. In Cuttack, Team India didn’t require his support while batting but later the 24-year-old opened the bowling for the team and claimed three wickets while conceding only 29 runs.

Bowlers

Jaydev Unadkat - The Saurashtra pacer successfully utilized his comeback match against Sri Lanka with a good performance on a wicket that didn't have too much for the pacers. He bowled two overs in which he gave away only seven runs and claimed one wicket in the form of Niroshan Dickwella - his first ever T20I wicket. 

Kuldeep Yadav – The 23-year-old sent three Sri Lankan batsmen back to the pavilion while conceding 42 runs in the last ODI. The Chinaman bowler continued his brilliant form in the shortest format as well picking up two wickets in four overs spending just 18 runs despite the dew factor.

Yuzvendra Chahal – He performed very well in the limited over series as after finishing wicket-less in the first ODI, he claimed three wickets each in the last two games. The Royal Challengers Bangalore bowler has been superb when it comes to the 20-over format and he proved the fact once again as he picked four wickets for just 23 runs in four overs winning the man of the match award.

Jasprit Bumrah – In the absence of his partner, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, the Gujarat bowler will have to lead the Indian bowling attack. In the opener of the series, he didn’t get any wicket but he only spent ten runs in two overs which helped in India’s 93-run victory.