IND vs SL: 5 player battles to watch out for

This January, the Indian cricket team will kick off their 2023 journey by hosting Sri Lanka for three T20Is and One Day Internationals (ODIs) from January 3 to January 15, 2023. The Men in Blue will look to dominate their opponents in their backyard in both forms of the game. So far, Sri Lanka hasn’t won any T20I or ODI series in India, and noting this fact, Team India fans will expect their team to crush the visitors and maintain their streak.

After the New Zealand series, Hardik Pandya will be seen holding the reins of the Indian T20I team again. In the first T20I in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, the Indian cricket team would like to begin the competition with a victory. However, the team needs to be wary of some quality Sri Lanka players who could give some key Indian players a tough time in the series. For spectators, these clashes will be enticing to witness as they will set the tournament on fire by delivering some amazing action.

Here are 5 player battles to watch out for in the T20I series

5. Arshdeep Singh vs Pathum Nissanka

Last year, in the Super four round of the Asia Cup 2022, Pathum Nissanka played a crucial role in helping Sri Lanka thump India with six wickets in hand. With his impressive knock of 52 runs off 37 deliveries, he delivered a solid start to the team. The opener also clashed with Arshdeep Singh during the initial powerplay overs and played some amazing strokes.

In this series too, the Sri Lanka team management will expect Nissanka to dominate Singh and deliver fine starts to the team. However, it won’t be a piece of cake for the young opener as Arshdeep will enjoy the home condition and look to dismiss him in the initial overs of the matches using his inswingers and outswingers. 

So far, Arshdeep has scalped 33 wickets in 21 T20Is at an economy of 8.17. On another side, Nissanka has also played 36 T20Is since March 2021 and scored 1,015 runs at a strike rate of 114.17, with nine half-centuries.