Cuttack: The bench strength is expected to be tested but India are unlikely to lower the intensity when they take on Sri Lanka in a three-match Twenty20 series starting here on Wednesday, aiming to extend their dominance in the shortest format as well.
The Test series in its pocket, India, without inspirational skipper Virat Kohli, hardly broke a sweat to clinch the one-day series 2-1 and Rohit Sharma and Co. will look to polish off the T20I series on a perfect note.
Sri Lanka have been no match to India, barring their one-off spectacular bowling effort in Dharmasala in the opening ODI.
After India bounced back in Mohali, Sri Lanka had their best chance in Visakhapatnam but they collapsed from 136/1 to be bundled out for 215.
A resilient India quickly got into the act after an inspirational stumping by M.S. Dhoni. This was followed by the spin twins Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal running through the Lankan batting to claim three wickets each.
However, Twenty20 is a different ball game and India would look for a smooth transition to the shortest format, having endured a batting disaster in the first one-dayer.
India do not have happy memories of the solitary T20I at the Barabati Stadium despite the fact that they lead Sri Lanka 7-4 on head-to-head count and are yet to lose against them in the last four outings.
India had folded for 92 against South Africa in the lone T20I played here in 2015 as crowd trouble brought infamy to the venue, and the hosts would look to give a better account of their batting tomorrow.
India’s batting will heavily rely on skipper Sharma, who will have KL Rahul for company at the top.
Having lost his first match as captain, Sharma’s record double hundred led a 141-run rout in Mohali and he will look to continue that form in the shortest format.
A good start will be crucial for India to minimise the workload on the middle and lower order, which will be steered by Dhoni, whose ability was doubted in the series against New Zealand.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have lost five T20Is on the trot, starting from the match against Bangladesh in April.
For the visitors, Upul Tharanga was in imperious form during his 95 in the third ODI and he would be the key for Sri Lanka.
Former skipper Angelo Mathews, who scored a century in the second ODI, would be the vital cog in the Sri Lankan wheel. The islanders would also hope that Niroshan Dickwella strikes form to give some stability to the middle order.
Their otherwise ordinary bowling looked exceptional in Dharmasala where they bundled out India for 112 but since then, they have managed to take six wickets in two matches and they have to buck up in all the departments of the game.
“We had a good chance to beat India in India, but we couldn’t execute with our middle order. We have to think about the T20Is, everything is past, we have to think about the present,” Sri Lanka captain Perera has said in Visakhapatnam.
