Asia Cup 2023, Super Fours Match 4 | India's Predicted XI vs Sri Lanka

image-lmf9841mKuldeep Yadav was the star for India with the ball against Pakistan (Source: AP Photos)

Matches are coming on a regular basis in the Colombo leg of the ongoing 2023 Asia Cup and match 5 will see Sri Lanka go up against India in the R. Premadasa Stadium, scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM IST, Local Time.

The Dasun Shanaka-led unit initiated the sporting event with a five-wicket victory against Bangladesh in the group stages. It was followed by an extremely close victory in a must-win affair against Afghanistan. They extended their dominance against Bangladesh in the Super Fours, and now that they have two points in the bag, Sri Lanka is prepared to take on the challenge posed by the Men in Blue.

On the other hand, the Indian squad has faced rain throughout the competition so far. Their opening match of the tournament against Pakistan, their bitter rivals, was a stalemate. India was able to score 266 runs in the first innings, however, the second innings could not continue due to precipitation. In the second match against Nepal, the openers Shubman Gill and Rohit dominated, easily chasing down a dls target of 145 runs. 

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The India versus Pakistan second clash during the Super Fours was postponed to the reserve day after India remained at 147/2 after to half-centuries from Rohit and Shubman. It was followed by two tons from KL Rahul and Virat Kohli who helped India get 356 in 50 overs. In reply, Pakistan were folded up for 128-8 as Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf could not come out to bat due to injury. This meant a 228 runs mammoth victory for India who also soared up at the top of the Super Four points table. 

If India can seal a win against Sri Lanka, this would mean a sure shot place in the Finals. So let us have a quick look at the predicted XI of the Indian side.


Openers: Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill

The captain is locked in the playing XI and there should be no reason unless any physical mishap why Rohit should not be in the XI. On the other hand, Shubman played a glorious couple of knocks against Nepal and Pakistan on consecutive matches and will open with Rohit.


Middle Order: Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan

The middle-order of India is likely to remain the same as that of the Pakistan clash. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are riding on the back of glorious centuries against arch-rivals, Pakistan and there should be no reason why they won't be retained in their positions. Ishan Kishan was stupendous with his 82 off 81 balls against Pakistan in India's opener against Pakistan and henceforth will be the number five. 


All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur

Hardik and Jadeja are the MVP of the Indian contingent. The former was brilliant with the bat against Pakistan in India's first game of the Asian Championship and continued to shine with the ball in the next couple of matches. Jadeja has been tight with his bowling so far, claimed three wickets against Nepal too. 


Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj

Jasprit Bumrah was surreal with the new ball and got the banana swing on various occasions. He constantly beat the edges of the bat of the opposition batters and snapped Imam-ul-Haq to offer India with the first breakthrough in the last match.  He is likely to be accompanied by Mohammed Siraj as India might not want to tinker with their winning combination. And lastly, Kuldeep Yadav earned a brilliant fifer against Pakistan in the recent clash and should be India's lead spinner in the game.


India Predicted XI versus Sri Lanka

Rohit Sharma (c)
Shubman Gill
Virat Kohli
KL Rahul 
Ishan Kishan (wk)
Hardik Pandya
Ravindra Jadeja
Shardul Thakur
Kuldeep Yadav
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammed Siraj