Asian Games: Star-studded India look to shake off rust in semi-final against Sri Lanka (Preview)
Nisshin, Sep 30
Having played only ten overs of competitive cricket due to relentless weather disruptions on their trip in Japan, a star-studded India will look to brush off the rustiness when they take on Sri Lanka in the second semi-final of the Asian Games men's T20 event here on Thursday.
Torrential downpours in Nisshin have severely impacted the tournament schedule, leading to six abandoned matches, five of which were washed out without the toss being held. It meant both India and Sri Lanka entered the last four stage directly based on higher seedings after their respective quarter-finals were washed out.
But with clear skies forecasted for Thursday, India, the current gold medal holders, are finally set to play a full T20 contest on what is expected to be a slow, sluggish pitch at the Korogi Sports Park.
While India have deployed a full-strength T20I squad featuring the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, and Ishan Kishan to defend their gold medal, Sri Lanka have fielded a second-string setup led by Sahan Arachchige, who has played just a solitary T20I till date.
Sri Lanka will also rely heavily on senior figures Niroshan Dickwella and Ashen Bandara, alongside six players with fewer than ten T20I appearances and four uncapped faces. Compounding Sri Lanka's challenge is their recent form in the shortest format, having managed just one victory in their last ten T20I outings and struggling consistently to breach the 150-run mark.
Despite the stark contrast in team strength, India will be quick in adapting to unfamiliar Japanese conditions. Shreyas Iyer's side narrowly avoided a massive upset against Japan in Sano last week, and with conditions heavily tailored to suit spinners, India's formidable attack is expected to play a pivotal role in restricting the Sri Lankan batters to a paltry total.
Should bad weather intervene again, India will automatically progress to the final by virtue of their superior tournament seeding. For now, all focus lies on the fireworks a star-studded Indian team can bring on Japanese shores.
When: Thursday, October 1, 10am IST
Where: Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin
Where to watch: The match will be shown live on the Sony Sports Network and live-streamed on the SonyLiv app and website.
Squads
India: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Vipraj Nigam, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Sri Lanka: Sahan Arachchige (captain), Ashen Bandara, Lasith Croospulle, Sohan de Livera, Niroshan Dickwella (wicket-keeper), Binura Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Tharindu Ratnayake, Dushan Hemantha, Sineth Jayawardena, Chamika Karunaratne, Garuka Sanketh, Wanuja Sahan, Nuwan Thushara, and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth.
— IANS
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