Nidahas Trophy, Tri-Nation T20I series: India to begin campaign against Sri Lanka

What's the story?

India will begin their Nidahas Trophy campaign against Sri Lanka on March 6 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The start of the tournament has been brought forward by two days in order to accommodate the final on a Sunday, as opposed to Tuesday which had been planned initially.

In case you didn't know...

The Nidahas trophy has been organised to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Sri Lanka's independence. The tournament will consist of six games played between three nations (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh) with a final to be contested after the initial round-robin to decide the winner. All the matches will be played in Colombo under lights.

The heart of the matter

India and Bangladesh will arrive in the island nation on March 4. While Bangladesh are set to play a warm-up match to prepare for the series, India will begin their campaign directly against the hosts.

"70 years is a long journey, and one that needs to be commemorated and celebrated. We are happy that our closest neighbours, who share more or less the same journey of independence are joining us in this celebration, which we believe will be a milestone and an augur of the great things to come in the annals of cricket," said Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Thilanga Sumathipala.

What's next?

The series will begin just after India's tour of South Africa concludes.

Complete Schedule:

March 6: Sri Lanka v India

March 8: Bangladesh v India

March 10: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh

March 12: India v Sri Lanka

March 14: India v Bangladesh

March 16: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka

March 18: Final

Author's take

After such a taxing assignment overseas, India will, in all likelihood, look at the tournament as the ideal opportunity to test their bench strength and give some of the younger members of their squad a go.