IND vs SL Live Score: The fields are set, and players are geared up as India & Sri lanka both will lock horns in the Asia Cup 2023 Final on Sunday, 16th September on the grounds of Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Both teams have displayed exceptional performances throughout the tournament & deserve the spots in Asia Cup 2023.
India who has last lifted the Asia Cup Trophy back in 2018 will aim to repeat the same in this season as well. On the other hand, Sri lanka has displayed great character throughout the Asia Cup 2023 & will try its best to win this final & keep the Asia Cup with them. There are injury concerns in both teams & which team will overcome the injury scare is what will be known on 17th September at the grounds of Colombo.
IND vs. SL: Teams Preview
India Preview
After securing a spot in the Asia Cup Finals 2023, Indian played a second-string team against Bangladesh in their last league stage fixture which they ended up losing cost. However, all the key players who were rested for the Bangladesh fixture will return to the lineup for the Asia Cup 2023 Finals.
In their last fixture against Bangladesh, India won the toss & opted to field first. Bowling first they got off to a good start by sclaping 4 wickets. However, they failed to capitalize it in the middle overs ending up conceding huge 266 runs. Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers with 3-65 runs.
In reply in the chase of 266 runs, India got off to a stunning start. However, losing wickets at regular intervals meant that they could not stitch meaningful stands which resulted in India losing the game by 6 runs. Shubman Gill scored a magnificent 121 off 133 balls but at a losing cost.
However, the return of centurion Virat will bolster their lineup while in the bowling attack, they will miss the services of Axar Patel who has been ruled out of the fixture due to an injury. However, Washington Sundar comes in as Axar’s replacement. However, Sundar landed in Sri Lanka only on Friday while Shardul has been with the team since the beginning. There are chances that the team management goes with Shardul as an all-rounder option in place of Axar. If Thakur goes in the Playing XI then Tilak might be chosen as a third spin bowling option.
Key Players: Virat Kohli, Shubhman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja
India Predicted Playing XI:
1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 KL Rahul (wk), 5 Ishan Kishan/Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur/Washington Sundar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Sri Lanka Preview
The Sri Lankan team who are currently placed at the eighth spot on the ICC ODI Rankings will aim to prove their prowess & defend their Asia Cup title. They have performed well so far in the tournament & will aim to repeat the heroics of their last win against Pakistan.
In their previous clash against Pakistan, they got off to a stunning start with the ball & maintained it in the middle overs as well to restrict Pakistan to an average total of 252 runs in 42 overs (rain-affected match)Matheesha Pathirana was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 65 runs. However, he will miss the crucial fixture due to a hamstring injury.
In reply, in the chase of 253 runs in 42 overs, Sri lanka got off to a decent start. However, they lost wickets in the middle overs & things got nervy by the last over as they needed 2 runs in 1 ball to win the clash & book a spot in the finals. However, Asalanka managed the things & did the job for the team by registering a win over the last ball. Kusal Mendis was the star batter scoring 91 runs off 87 balls, he will continue to be their biggest bet.
For Sri Lanka, legspinner Dushan Hemantha is the favorite to replace Theekshana. They could also bring in allrounder Sahan Arachchige, but Hemantha has stronger bowling credentials.
Key Players: Kusal Mendis, Matheesha Pathirana, Pathum Nissanka
Sri Lanka Predicted Playing XI:
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka(c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana
IND vs SL: Pitch & Weather Conditions
The weather will be forecast with a 90% chance of rain on the match day. The Colombo pitch is not known for producing high-scoring fixtures but low-scoring thrillers. This means a slow-turning surface is on the cards. However, the expected wet conditions could play a factor in how much the ball actually turns. The team batting first has won five out of six fixtures played on the Colombo pitch. Thus considering the records & weather conditions team winning the toss should opt to bat first.
Winning Prediction
India will want to win the Asia Cup 2023 final at any cost to end their title drought since 2018. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will look ahead to defend their title & win the fixture to add one more Asia Cup title to their kitty. Looking at player’s forms & records we predict India to win this fixture.
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