Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the first T20I of the series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Sanju Samson has been dropped of the first T20I against Sri Lanka. With the return of regular players, Samson has been replaced by Rishabh Pant, who will take on the wicketkeeping responsibilities for the series.
"It looks like a pretty good pitch and we want to see how it goes. We are going with 6-5 (batters-bowlers) combination. I want to give every player a specific roles and that;s why we are going with 5 bowlers. You can expect more wins and more consistency," Charith Asalanka said after winning the toss.
"It (the pitch) looks good and it is fine to bat first. The brand of cricket remains the same. The relationship me and him (Gambhir) have had for so many years is special. Dube, Samson, Khaleel and Washington are the four players to miss out. That (World Cup) is history, we start from scratch and it is a new challenge," India captain Suryakumar Yadav said.
In head-to-head T20I encounters, India has a strong record against Sri Lanka, having won 19 of the 29 matches played between the two sides. Sri Lanka has won nine times, and one match ended without a result. In T20Is played in Sri Lanka, India has secured five victories and faced only three defeats.
The series opener in Pallekele on Saturday marks the debut of India's new leadership team. Gautam Gambhir, a two-time World Cup winner, has taken over as head coach. Suryakumar Yadav, known for his exceptional T20I batting, steps in as captain. Gambhir, who previously led the Kolkata Knight Riders to three IPL titles (twice as captain and once as mentor), replaces Rahul Dravid. Dravid guided the team to the finals in recent ICC events.
Key performers to watch include Suryakumar Yadav, who has scored 254 T20I runs against Sri Lanka at an impressive average of 63.50 and a strike rate of 158.75. Hardik Pandya holds the joint record for the most T20I wickets in wins for India, with 72. For Sri Lanka, Wanindu Hasaranga has taken 31 T20I wickets at home with an economy rate of 6.79, while Kusal Mendis has amassed 845 T20 runs in 2024 at a striking rate of 149.82.
Playing XIs
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka
India: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Riyan Parag, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
