1st T20I Live: Rain delays start after India opt to bowl

LIVE BLOG

19:20 IST: Slight drizzle still out there but the groundsmen are out in the middle and have started their exercise to get the ground ready.

19:15 IST: Update! It was pouring 10 minutes back but now the intensity of the rain has reduced.

18:50 IST – Bad News! It has started drizzling in Guwahati. Covers are arriving on the field and fans have taken a shelter in the stands.

Playing XI for both teams

India: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah

Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera(w), Oshada Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Lasith Malinga(c)

Captains at the toss!

Virat Kohli: “We’re gonna bowl first. We haven’t played here in a while. The last time we played here, we chased well. The game we played prior to that against Australia, they chased well too. The track does play differently in the second half as compared to the first part. It’s a good thing actually, there isn’t too much of a difference in conditions, except that the track settles down better later on with the wet ball. Last year was outstanding for us in two formats, T20s not so much. Good thing though is that we have a World Cup coming up and we’ll be taking things more seriously. Pandey, Samson, Chahal and Jadeja aren’t playing. Kuldeep and Washington because of their left-handers and we have three seamers.”

Lasith Malinga: “Happy to bat first. Don’t think the track will change too much. We have prepared well and will want to put it into performances. Need to put runs on the board and then take it from there. We have brought 16 players as we need to finetune our combination for the World Cup. Three seamers and two spinners for us. Need five genuine bowlers to put pressure on India.”

Team news: So, Jasprit Bumrah returns to playing XI after an injury lay off of four months. Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja are not playing today’s game.

Toss news: Team India skipper Virat Kohli wins the toss and the hosts will have a go with the ball first in Guwahati.

Pitch report: “There are plenty of cracks. This is not a pretty-looking pitch. I don’t think batsmen will have it that easy. Yes, there will be runs as it’s T20 but there will be help for spinners. It is a bit tacky. Captains will want to chase because he doesn’t want dew to affect his bowlers. Also, he wants to know the target.” reckon Sunil Gavaskar alongside Murali Kartik.

First match of the year. Team India looks all set!

Hello and welcome to TimesofIndia.com’s live coverage of the first T20I of the three-match series between India and Sri Lanka in Guwahati.
Source : timesofindia