India vs Sri Lanka: Newcomers look to make an impact as Cuttack pitch shows signs of run-fest

India’s stand-in-captain Rohit Sharma knows a thing or two about leading a side in a Twenty20 (T20) match. Rohit has been the captain of Indian Premier League (IPL) side Mumbai Indians since 2013 and the team lifted the trophy thrice under his leadership. So going into the first T20I match between India and Sri Lanka at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium,  Rohit would be in familiar setup and his team will look to start the three-match series with a victory. [caption id=“attachment_4267153” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Indian players during a training session ahead of their first T20I at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. AP[/caption] If there’s familiarity with Rohit captaining a T20 side, there’s a bit of unfamiliarity with the Indian line-up. Hosts will be without Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan while newbies, such as Basil Thampi, Deepak Hooda and Washington Sundar will look to impress at the international level. For players who are new to the international scene, the series is a perfect platform to make a strong statement. Apart from playing at home, they will be facing a side that is short on form and confidence. Sri Lanka are not the best of international teams at the moment, so Indian players, especially the newcomers, should look to take advantage of their opponents’ situation. “All of them have come with a lot of IPL experience behind them, some have played 20-30 games. They are not as perturbed as they used to be in earlier days. It gives them a lot of confidence to come into the international set-up,” Dinesh Karthik said on the eve of the series-opener. For the Cuttack T20I, it will be interesting to see what kind of line-up Rohit will go ahead with. Since there’s no Dhawan, KL Rahul will open the batting along with the skipper. Thanks to his two fifties in recently-concluded ODIs, Shreyas Iyer will keep the No 3 spot followed by Karthik, Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni. Considering this is the  first match of the series, Rohit will prefer Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal as his two spinners while Washington Sundar might get a chance later. Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack but the team management have to make a decision on the second pacer. Keeping the left-right combination in mind, Jaydev Unadkat has the best chance to make it to the XI. Also the fact that Unadkat’s variations might prove handy during crucial situations may work in his favour. Deepak Hooda is a contender for the all-rounder spot but it’s very unlikely that he will play the game instead of Hardik Pandya. There’s no drastic change in Sri Lanka’s team for the T20Is apart from the notable exception of Suranga Lakmal. In the batting department, the onus will be on the likes of Upul Tharanga and Angelo Mathews to attack Indian bowlers. Skipper Thisara Perera has plenty of experience in this format and his team will be hoping that his spells can bring success in terms of wickets. Last time India played a match in Cuttack, Dhoni had a memorable day, smashing a terrific century as India scored 381 in 50 overs. This was in January this year and on Wednesday, Dhoni will be hoping for similar memories. There’s no doubt that Dhoni is India’s best wicketkeeper when it comes to One-Day Internationals (ODIs), but the same cannot be said with conviction in the shortest format of the game. There’s intense scrutiny about his place and some critics were vocal in expressing their views about former captain’s fading match-winning abilities with the bat in T20Is. At 36, and after achieving so much, it is pertinent to raise the topic of Dhoni’s retirement from T20Is. But knowing Dhoni, and how self aware he is, it’s clear that he will make the right call. The Cuttack pitch usually favours batsmen and there’s no reason why it will change for Wednesday’s game. It’s a 7 pm start on a cold December evening so dew will definitely be a factor. Pre-match signs say it’s going to be a run-fest with the team winning the toss likley to bowl first. Squad: India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat. Sri Lanka: Thisara Perera (captain), Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Janith Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dasun Shanaka, Chaturanga de Silva, Sachith Pathirana, Dananjaya De Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Dusmantha Chameera.