Asia Cup 2016: India vs Sri Lanka - Match prediction and pitch analysis

India high on confidence after a win against their arch-rivals Pakistan will face Sri Lanka in yet another thrilling T20 encounter in the Asia Cup 2016.

India currently unbeaten in the Asia Cup will start as favourites in the clash against Sri Lanka who are currently looking a little out of sorts in every department. With a win and a loss in this Asia Cup, Sri Lanka is currently facing an uphill task to revive their fortunes.

In fact, they recently lost a bilateral T20 series against India where they were completely outplayed in the last two games. Well, Sri Lanka can take positives from the first game at Pune where they bowled India out for a meagre 105 on a track which offered pace and bounce and is almost similar to the track at Mirpur where the Asia Cup matches are currently being played.

As these two teams square off against each other, let us have a look at some of the key battles to watch out for:

Virat Kohli vs Angelo Mathews: The Indian test skipper displayed exquisite batsmanship as he singlehandedly guided India to victory against Pakistan. He remained calm and composed and nullified the threat of Mohammad Amir with his exemplary batting skills. On the other side, the stand in Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews will look to nullify Kohli with his deadly inswinging deliveries and deceptive off cutters. Kohli with his tremendous record against Sri Lanka will start as favourite to win this battle against Mathews.

Rohit Sharma vs Dushmantha Chameera: Rohit Sharma has managed to silence his critics about his inconsistent form with an array of good performances of late. But the new pace sensation from Sri Lanka, Dushmantha Chameera got the better of him twice in the recent T20 series that these two teams played. Chameera will look to get Rohit early once again with his fast inswinging deliveries as Rohit is quite vulnerable to such balls at the beginning of his innings. This will be a gripping battle for sure.

Tillakaratne Dilshan vs Ravichandran Ashwin: The Indian spin sensation Ravichandran Ashwin flummoxed Dilshan twice in the bilateral series with his tricks. Will Dilshan have the answer this time around? Will Dhoni open the bowling with Ashwin to play mind games with Dilshan? The latter seems to be out of touch of late. But the pedigree of the man is unquestionable. Can the old horse from Sri Lanka finally come good in a key game to guide his team through? This will be an intriguing battle for sure.

Ashwin with his tricks can outsmart the best in the business

Hardik Pandya vs Rangana Herath: Hardik Pandya seems to have become the new sensation in Indian cricket with his big hitting skills and effective bowling spells. This time, he will have to come up against the wily old customer Rangana Herath who has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. Be it the left arm orthodox spin or the deceptive straighter one, he has plenty of variations in his armoury. Can he outfox the swashbuckling Pandya? A key battle for sure!!

Dinesh Chandimal vs Jaspreet Bumrah: Dinesh Chandimal is undoubtedly the face of the new generation of the Sri Lankan cricket.But of late, he has been fairly inconsistent. Chandimal will have to take his performance a notch higher against the likes of Jaspreet Bumrah who is currently in red-hot form. Who will get the better of whom? This will be an interesting battle for sure!

India vs Sri Lanka Pitch Analysis:

The track at Mirpur is conducive to swing bowling with the pitch offering sideways movement. But in the last match between Pakistan and UAE, the pitch looked a little drier with some grass being chopped off.

Nevertheless, under lights, the pitch will assist the seamers if they bowl the right line and length. Spinners might have a role to play today given the dry look of the strip.

India vs Sri Lanka Match Prediction:

India winning seven out of their last eight T20 internationals will start as clear favourites. Also, the recent form of Sri Lanka is abysmal, to say the least. But in cricket, especially in T20s, you can never say anything with utmost of certainty.

If Sri Lanka plays as a unit and exposes the chinks in India’s armour, like they did in the game in Pune, they can surely spring a surprise.