IND vs SL: Suryakumar Yadav & Co eye rehearsal ahead of Asia Cup Final, Sri Lanka aim to bow out on a high

India have a chance to hand chances to some of their fringe players before the Asia Cup final against Pakistan.

India will have a final hit out against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Friday in their final group stage game. The Men in Blue have already qualified for the Asia Cup 2025 Final and will face Pakistan. Sri Lanka meanwhile have been knocked out and will look to end their campaign on a high. Suryakumar Yadav and Co are still unbeaten in the tournament and will look to fix the little chinks in their armour before the summit clash.

IND vs SL: Dress rehearsal ahead of Asia Cup Final

The India vs Sri Lanka game is a dead rubber. The result would mean nothing and India will still play Pakistan in the Asia Cup Final come Sunday. However, it gaves India a vital chance at fixing some of their flaws. Gautam Gambhir’s side have notched up 5 straight wins but have been far from convincing in the tournament.

While they won by 41 runs against Bangladesh, their opponents were in the game for most of the 40 overs. Their batting, barring Abhishek Sharma, has yet to take the tournament by storm. Sanju Samson has a half-century but was carded at No.8 and has largely struggled. Tilak Varma and Shubman Gill have chipped in with cameos while captain Suryakumar has struggled.

Kuldeep Yadav has been outstanding with ball in hand but has had mixed support. Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy have both blown hot and cold in the 5 games. India could look at resting the two again, like they did against Oman.

Sri Lanka meanwhile saw their world turn around in a week. Charith Asalanka’s side secured dominant wins over Afghanistan and Bangladesh to reach Super 4 unbeaten. Since then they lost twice handsomely to crash out of the tournament. Friday gives them a chance to bow out in style against the mighty Indian t20I juggernaut.

IND vs SL Predicted XI

Probable India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh

Probable Sri Lanka XI: Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Janith Liyanage, Nuwanidu Fernando, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Matheesha Pathirana, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana