India vs Sri Lanka – 1st T20I Match Prediction

Sri Lanka have just finished playing a five-match T20 series in Australia, and although they lost 4-1, the series was much closer than the final score suggests. There is no break for them though as they are now flying to India for three T20I matches and two Test Matches. The tour will start with the T20I series.

Will Sri Lanka get their tour off to a flier or will India pick up where the left off against the West Indies, and win their seventh game in a row? Read our match prediction of who will win.

India Team Preview

KL Rahul is not available for this series, but despite this the Indian selectors still decided to give Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli a rest for the series. This indicates that the India cricket team wants to give their fringe players and youngsters a chance to show off their skills before the T20 World Cup gets underway in Australia later this year.

Rohit Sharma will definitely open the batting since not only is he one of India's best batsmen, but he is also now the captain of the team. In the three-match series against the West Indies, Ishan Kishan opened the batting alongside Sharma, but we think Ruturaj Gaikwad will open the batting in this first match. We believe that the rest of their batting line-up will be made up of Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, and Kishan.

If you are thinking about doing a spot of online cricket betting and want to place some money on the batsman who will top score for India, then we would recommend that you place your cash on Sharma. He is in good form at the moment and as an opener he gets to bat when there are fielding restrictions in play.

When it comes to the India bowling attack, we fully expect to see Jasprit Bumrah return to the side, and it is safe to say that his presence will provide them with more attacking threat. Mohammad Siraj did not play at all in the last series, so we think he will be given a chance to prove his worth in this series. We feel that the rest of their bowling attack will be made up of Ravi Jadeja, Harshal Patel, and Ravi Bishnoi.

If you are thinking about placing a bet on their Top Bowler at your favourite cricket betting sites, we would suggest that you consider betting on Patel. He has only played five matches, but he has picked up 9 wickets at an average of 17.33, so has what it takes to succeed at this level.

Sri Lanka Team Preview

Sri Lanka showed a number of vulnerabilities in their 5-match series against Australia, but they learnt from their mistakes and got better as the series progressed. They were awarded for their efforts in the last game of the series as they finally got a win on the board. However, they still have a lot to fix and they can use this series against India to test their character and ability further.

Sri Lanka were not as good with the bat against Australia as they would have liked, but the likes of Dasun Shanaka and Kusal Mendis showed their quality. Many of the other batsmen threw their wickets away too easily though, and they will need to rectify that if they are to stand any chance of winning a game in India.

When it comes to their batting line-up, we think that Kamil Mishara and Pathum Nissanka will open the batting, while Charith Asalanka will come in at the fall of the first wicket. The middle-order will be made up of Mendis, Shanaka, and Janith Liyanage. If you are looking for quality cricket betting odds, we recommend you place Top Batsman bet on Nissanka - he was the top batsmen in the series against Australia, and we believe he will carry his good form into this series too.

While the batting line-up struggled in Australia, it is safe to say that the bowlers did not. They were excellent at times, and will want to take this form into the upcoming series against India. Dushmantha Chameera was Sri Lanka's top wicket taker in Australia, so he is definitely one to keep an eye on in the next three matches.

Wanindu Hasaranga was also really good, but unfortunately for him and Sri Lanka, he has tested positive so will miss this series. The other bowlers that we expect to see in this first match are Chamika Karunaratne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Maheesh Theekshana, and Lahiru Kumara.

Toss Prediction

The captain that wins the toss might decide to bat first. The Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Cricket Stadium is known to be a high-scoring venue, and a lot of times the team that bats first has amassed a very solid total. The average first innings score for T20Is at this venue stands at 151 runs, while the average score for the second innings stands at 128 runs. This indicates that it is an advantage to bat first at this stadium.

Pitch and Conditions

The weather should be set fair, meaning that we should not see any unwanted weather delays. This should be a wicket that is not difficult to score on, so we expect to see some runs from both sides. The lowest T20 score that has been defended on this wicket is 156, so the team that bats first will look to score somewhere in the region of 170 runs to give themselves a really good chance of getting a win.

Our Match Prediction

So, what is our match prediction today? Well, when we compare how both teams have been performing as of late, India certainly has the upper hand. Not only do they have a stronger looking team on paper, but they also have home advantage, which can always play a huge role. Therefore, we cannot really see anything other than an India win.

Today's match prediction: India to win.