ICC Champions Trophy 2013: India vs Sri Lanka: Semi-final 2 preview

India has finally gained the Midas touch under their skillful and effervescent skipper. They are in rollicking form and the pieces are finally falling into place. The batsmen are coming well together and apart from the odd blemishes, the bowling has been extremely pleasing. Having said that, the acid test lies ahead of India as too much of good form and good luck could get them into a false sense of confidence and complacency. Therefore, focus is the key for India as they romp into the semi-finals on an unbeaten streak.

Knowing Dhoni, he wouldn’t be too keen to experiment on the winning combination; therefore one can safely assume that the same eleven that played against Pakistan would be taking the field on Thursday.

The Rivalry:

Being our neighbours, Sri Lanka has played a vast number of matches against India, therefore our strengths and weakness lie out in the open for both the parties to see. It would only be the performance that would matter on the field.

The Conditions:

The Sophia Gardens cricket ground is renowned for its nativity as it bears the symbol of England’s cricketing excellence. It is a perfect example to demonstrate the love for cricket. The conditions, as usual, would be favouring the seamers. When it comes to India vs. Sri Lanka, the bowling department is matched equally, with Malinga and Yadav providing the necessary impetus for their respective sides, though Malinga could be termed experienced. Therefore it would be battle of equals, come Thursday.

The previous match between England and New Zealand was almost washed out and one can expect chilly and cloudy conditions prevailing over the ground on the day of the match.

Key Players:

Shikhar Dhawan: The south paw from Delhi has hit a purple patch, that too at the most appropriate time. His form has been influential in India’s success in the tournaments as he smashed back-to-back hundreds to guide India home on both the occasions. He would be hungry for more and today would be the perfect day to bat without any sort of pressure. That could let him be even more aggressive and allow him to build on his confidence.

Ravindra Jadeja: “Sir” Ravindra Jadeja is finally earning a reputation for his title and if things continue to go his way, he might even be knighted within a few years. Jokes apart, his performances in the recent past have been brilliant to say the least. He is the perfect all-rounder that India require at the moment and his aggressive batting adds the right amount of impetus to India’s batting and provides a spot for another bowler/batsman, which is clearly a luxury.

Umesh Yadav: The Sri Lankan team would be filled with stroke makers in accordance with the conditions and our only trump card to counter their attack would be this man. Full of pace, he could be lethal if the conditions are suitable. He tries to bowl full and that is a wonderful sight for any fast bowler. He would be crucial in today’s match to provide India with the initial break through.

R. Ashwin: The wily off-spinner from Chennai has not managed to set the stage on fire in this competition and he would be looking to set the record straight come Saturday. His variations would come in handy while squaring up against a sub-continent team.

Today’s match would be anticipated for various reasons, ranging from rivalry to good action. The match tickets have been sold out and the expectations are high as the battle to gain a slot in the finals would pump both teams up, even more since this is the last edition.

India would want to put its best foot forward to wipe out all the disgrace caused due to the spot-fixing scandals. MS Dhoni is leading a good team but he shouldn’t take the Lankans for granted as they could be lethal on their day. They have some pretty good stroke makers in their line up and have variety in their bowling. It would be an acid test of sorts and there is no room for error.

All the best Team India!

Last Meeting:

India vs Sri Lanka (Practice Match, Champions Trophy) :

Result: India Won

Possible Eleven: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(c & k), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav

Prediction: Having gotten the better of much tougher opponents including Pakistan and South Africa, India should have this match in the bag, yet, it would definitely be a thriller, for Lankans are fighters!