After beating them in the last ODI, can Sri Lanka cause a major upset in T20Is?

With the ODI series of India's tour of Sri Lanka done and dusted, the teams move on to the scheduled Twenty-20's. Five Twenty-20's will be played between these two teams and will be crucial in helping both of them prepare for the looming Women's Twenty-20 World Cup.



When you think about Sri Lanka facing off against India, you assume it's going to be a fairly one-sided series, with India dominating. However, recent results may suggest we have a very compelling series on our hands. Earlier this year, the undisputed champions of women's cricket in Asia, India, were overthrown in a massive upset when Bangladesh defeated them first in the group stages, then in the finals' of the Asia Cup. Interestingly, in that tournament, Sri Lanka won against Bangladesh.



With Sri Lanka's skipper Chamari Athapththu - who has just returned from playing in the Kia Super League- starting to find the middle of the bat, scoring a fifty and following it up with a century, India will be wary of the threat Sri Lanka seem to pose. Is a major upset on the cards?



 



Key Players:



For  India, Smriti Mandhana will play a major role. The hard-hitting opener has been in fine touch with the bat, especially in the shortest format of the game, scoring runs just for fun it seems. Her contribution at the top along with some destructive batting from India's Twenty-20 skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur can help India score at a blistering rate. Another exciting prospect for India is their young wicketkeeper-batter Taniya Bhatia. Her knock of the 68 off 66 played a huge part in guiding her team to victory in the second ODI against Sri Lanka and showed her potential as a threat with the bat. With the ball, Mansi Joshi has been very impressive throughout the tour and India will be counting on her to maintain her form, especially with Jhulan Goswami having announced her retirement from the format.



For Sri Lanka, their captain Chamari Athapththu will hold the key to her teams success, both with the bat and ball. Fresh off a century in her sides winning cause, she will surely trouble India with her explosive exploits with the bat. Supporting her would be Nilakshi de Silva, who carried a healthy strike-rate through the last two ODI's and can score rapidly.



 



Importance:



This series is will be critical for both sides. With the Women's Twenty-20 World Cup right around the corner, this series will be the last international exposure either team will get before the landmark tournament starts so it is their last opportunity to identify problem areas and work on them. Winning the series would also help the victor gain momentum and confidence heading into the tournament.



 



Squad:



Sri Lanka:



Chamari Athapaththu (C), Yasoda Mendis, Hasini Perera, Shashikala Siriwardena, Eshani lokusooriya, Nilakshi De Silva, Ama Kanchana, Rebeca Vandort, Kaveesha Dilhari, Sripali Weerakkody, Sugandika kumari, Anushka Sanjeewani, Udeshika Prabodhini, Imalka Mendis, Dilani Manodara



India:



Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Dayalan Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Anuja Patil, Taniya Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi