Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Time: 2:30 PM IST
Average score at venue (1st inns): 362
Win percentage while batting first: 39.13%
Pitch conditions:
- The pitch at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore is expected to be favourable for batsmen while sporting a layer of fresh grass at the top of the surface in the initial days of the game. Spinners will also have an important role to play as the game progresses.
- India will look to impose themselves on Sri Lanka with their spin bowling might. The possible inclusion of Axar Patel will bolster their squad further which already has the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin featuring for them in the spin attack.
Weather prediction:
The dry weather in the southern Indian city of Bangalore will have bright and clear days throughout the second and final Test between India and Sri Lanka. The temperature will be in mid-30°C throughout the five days of this match while hitting a low of 19°C in the night. The humidity level will be mostly under 50% on all five days of this match.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD (overall):
Matches played: 45
India won: 21
Sri Lanka won: 7
Draw: 17
In India:
Matches played: 21
India won: 12
Sri Lanka won: 0
Draw: 9
Top 3 players from India: Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin
Top 3 players from Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Lasith Embuldeniya
Top picks for H2H/WTA conTest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from India: Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah
Top 5 players from Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Lasith Embuldeniya, Angelo Mathews, Suranga Lakmal
Q & A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
India and Sri Lanka are going to play their first ever day-night Test match with the pink cricket ball at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore starting on Saturday. While there has been a huge chasm between the two teams in terms of skills and quality, a day-night Test is always a foray into the unknown which will push the players completely to the hilt as far as skills are concerned. The last time India played a do you like chess match, they hammered England by a huge margin inside three days in Ahmedabad last year, which followed a horrendous outing against Australia at the Adelaide Oval. On the other hand, Sri Lanka's fortunes have not been too bright across formats and they face a test of character in the second and final match of this India tour. With Chinnaswamy stadium being a batting-friendly venue with short boundaries, it will be wise to add more to the batting department and pacers who can do the ball on either sides of the wickets, exploiting the movement which can be generated with the pink ball.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
India are a well-balanced side with plenty of firepower in all departments. Even though the home team’s key batsmen have been lacking big runs, there has been no dearth of vital contributions as well as partnerships from them in the middle. Despite R Sharma and V Kohlii failing to convert their respective starts into big innings, they were able to form crucial partnerships at the top of the order to set up the foundation for India. The return of Axar Patel has bolstered India's bowling line-up as the left-arm spin bowling all-rounder can be drafted in place of Jayant Yadav. India are the stronger side and should have more players featuring in the fantasy cricket playing XI.
MORE INFORMATION: Both India and Sri Lanka have identical records Iin day-night Test cricket with two victories each out of three matches that they have played so far. While India will be confident going into the second and final Test of the series given that they also have an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, the home team will have to guard against complacency given that Sri Lanka are yet to challenge India's authority on the field in any department. This is the first time ever that these two teams are playing a Test with the pink cricket ball and it remains to be seen how good the pitch is for batting under lights at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Players’ form: India were bolstered by a superb 97-ball 96 by Rishabh Pant and a brilliant 175 not out by Ravindra Jadeja, recently crowned as the world No 1 all-rounder, which powered them to a huge total of 574/8 declared in the first Test, which they won by a margin of an innings and 222 runs. While the middle-order did the job for India, they would still want their big guns in R Sharma and V Kohlii to fire before the players disperse for the Indian T20 League, which begins at the end of this month. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will want more from their senior players Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews especially when Pathum Nissanka is set to miss the final Test due to a back injury. The visiting side will have to be wary of Jadeja and Ashwin, who were unstoppable in the first Test at the IS Bindra stadium in Mohali.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
Likely XIs:
INDIA: R Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hanuma Vihari, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
SRI LANKA: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lahiru Kumara.
FANTASY XI: R Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Shreyas Iyer, V Kohlii (c), Kusal Mendis, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Suranga Lakmal/Lahiru Kumara, Lasith Embuldeniya.
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India, Sri Lanka set for historic day-night Test
India will look to complete a series clean sweep against a lowly Sri Lankan cricket team at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore starting on Saturday, with the two teams facing off in their first-ever day-night Test with the pink cricket ball.
India defeated Sri Lanka by a huge margin of an innings and 222 runs in the first Test at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, inflicting a heavy defeat inside three days which also highlighted the massive gap that has come to exist between the two Asian rivals, who were intensely competitive teams not long ago.
Indian cricket has grown stronger every passing year with a steady influx of powerful characters and skilful players who have brought them a lot of laurels across the formats and the globe, but the island nation has suffered immensely with the exit of great players and the next generation taking more than they would have liked to settle down.
Sri Lanka were once a world-beating side across formats but at present, they are getting by series and coaches one after the other. The important role of a head coach has been reduced to a game of musical chairs, or of a revolving door, with the team not yet finding the right replacement for Mickey Arthur. For what it is worth, former international Rumesh Ratnayake is the current head coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team.
The second and final Test against India will also being down curtains on the career of their loyal and hardworking fast bowler Suranga Lakmal, who, at 34, has chosen to look after his financial needs and called it a day for international cricket. The right-arm fast bowler is heading to the English County circuit, teaming up with his former coach Arthur at Derbyshire for a two-year stint.
The visitors are also set to be without their best batsman on this India tour for the Bangalore Test, with the right-handed talented Pathum Nissanka set to sit out for the contest starting on Saturday as he is ailing with a back injury. Kusal Mendis, the very talented middle-order batsman who played his last Test against England in January 2021, is expected to replace Nissanka in the playing XI.
The Indian team, on the other hand, will get further bolstered in their overall firepower if they happen to replace all-rounder Jayant Yadav with Axar Patel. The decision is not going to be a tough one to make given that Jayant has not made his mark in the second stint with the Indian cricket team having got Tests against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, whereas Patel, being an unstoppable force at home in Test cricket having made a record-making debut against England last year, is a tough choice not to pick.
India are not likely to make any change in their batting line-up but will hope better returns for the likes of R Sharma and Virat Kohli in particular, with the latter returning to the stage — a pink-ball Test — when he last scored his Test century almost three years ago.
