India v SL 2021: 5 key player battles to watch out for

As many of India's primary eleven are set to play a five-match Test series against hosts England next month, the All-India Senior Selection Committee recently picked a different 20-member squad to tour Sri Lanka for a white-ball series later this month.

It will be interesting to watch how Sri Lanka fare in this series, considering their most experienced players are set to miss out. This includes ODI specialist Dimuth Karunaratne, who found himself excluded from the contracts offered to Sri Lankan players ahead of the upcoming home series vs India.

Sri Lankan players Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka were also handed a one-year suspension due to a bio-bubble breach earlier last week.

That's not all, even former Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews, who has been an integral part of Sri Lankan Cricket's successes over the years, requested Sri Lanka Cricket to relieve him from national duties due to personal reasons earlier this morning.

India last played Sri Lanka in 2020, in a home series comprising three T20s. The first match of the series was abandoned due to rain, but India comfortably crossed the finish line in the remaining games, taking the series 2-0.

Key to India's clinical victory was capitalizing on individual contests between two players that eventually played a handy role in the result. Evident in the second match, left-handed quick Navdeep Saini was assigned the task of dismissing left-handed opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka.

Saini orchestrated the set-up of Gunathilaka, who was trapped by a steaming yorker after a successful use of variations by the pacer.

During the post-match presentation at the conclusion of the series, skipper Virat Kohli acknowledged the importance of recognizing and planning for individual match-ups, and stated that, "it's all about individual match-ups."

Five India-SL key player battles:

1) Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Kusal Perera

Kusal Perera is undeniably an integral part of the Sri Lankan middle-order, and comes with a truckload of experience under his belt. And the best way to tackle experienced players? Experience.

The task of dismissing the relentless left-hander will be handed to India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has a great record against him. Off the 26 deliveries bowled by Bhuvi, Perera scored just 12 runs and was dismissed by him once.

Bhuvi's ability to generate movement with the new-ball will definitely make this a battle to look out for. If he fails to produce movement, expect Perera to potentially snatch the game away from India.

2) Avishka Fernando vs Yuzvendra Chahal

Right-handed batsman Avishka Fernando opens the batting for Sri Lanka and has displayed the ruthless nature of his abilities on numerous occasions. Fernando scored a fighting century against the Windies during his maiden ICC World Cup in 2019, and has been a consistent performer for Sri Lanka in Limited Overs.

Yuzvendra Chahal will be key to his early dismissal, as India will look to hand over the responsibility of controlling run-flow in the middle overs and providing key breakthroughs to the leg-break bowler.

However, India's spin attack is prone to leaking runs in the middle overs, something the opening batsman will look to expose and capitalize on. Surely a key battle.

Avishka Fernando - England v Sri Lanka - 3rd ODI

3) Akila Dananjaya vs Shikhar Dhawan

India captain Shikhar Dhawan is highly skilled in his dealings with spin bowling. However, his early liberties against spinners have made him easy prey in the initial overs.

Dhawan has a penchant towards sweeping, and tends to cut square frequently, giving spinners ample room to go through. While these areas have been and continue to be Dhawan’s areas of strength, he tends to get set-up while going for such shots, making himself prone to getting out LBW early on.

The key will be picking the right balls in T20s, and taking time to settle in and adapt to the pitch in the ODIs. If Dhawan holds his ground beyond the first 10 overs, the damage caused may be irreparable.

Pakistan v Sri Lanka - ODI

Akila Dananjaya picked up his maiden five-wicket haul in an ODI against India in 2017, and has been a frequent sight in the Sri Lanka camp since his debut. India's middle order can be a brittle one, and if Dananjaya manages to crack through the top, a serious possibility considering Dhawan's record of squandering starts, the floodgates for an Indian collapse might just open.

4) Suranga Lakmal vs Devdutt Padikkal / Ruturaj Gaikwad

This battle is a promising one to look out for. Suranga Lakmal has been Sri Lanka’s pace bowling hot property for several years now. The 34-year-old right-arm fast bowler is a highly experienced player, making Indian debutants Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad possible victims on his radar.

With an impressive record of 109 wickets from 86 ODIs, Lakmal will surely be on the hunt for the newcomers. And while Padikkal’s classy dealings with pace bowling in recent editions of the IPL have impressed one and all, the nerves of being on international debut for India make a fiesty Lakmal and graceful Padikkal stand even in this battle. A mouthwatering contest indeed.

Suranga Lakmal - Sri Lanka v South Africa – ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Warm Up

5) Hardik Pandya vs Dhananjaya de Silva

A battle between the two quality all-rounders is clearly one to watch out for. With Hardik Pandya’s return this series, as he was rested/not played in order to be fully fit for the upcoming World T20, fans will be eager to watch him as an improved all-round asset for India.

Dhananjaya de Silva enjoys the advantage of having played multiple series recently, and is a genuine asset to the Sri Lankan side. He’s got a wide range of shots, is an attacking batsman and an agile fielder. He can prove to be effective in boosting the over-rate in the middle overs, a period Hardik Pandya has proven to be most efficient during, providing key breakthroughs for India.

In the recent home series against England, Pandya switched between amping up his pace and relying on cutters and slower balls for tacky wickets similar to Sri Lankan conditions. In the third T20, Pandya restricted England in the middle overs by taking pace off the ball and mixing up his lengths, switching between back of a length and short.

He successfully dismissed Jason Roy and caused visible discomfort to Johnny Bairstow, who was headed back to the dug-out, having negotiated 25 runs.

Pandya's value-addition to Team India is immense as he provides great balance to the Indian line-up. It will be interesting to see how both all-rounders add value to their side.