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India vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 1st T20I at Pune: Rohit Sharma vs Dushmantha Chameera, Ashish Nehra vs Dinesh Chandimal, and other Key Battles

India and Sri Lanka will battle it out in the first Twenty20 International (T20I) at Pune on Tuesday. Here are some of the key battles to watch out for.

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Yuvraj Singh (left) and Dilhara Fernando (right) both made their international debuts in 2000 © Getty Images
Yuvraj Singh (left) and Dilhara Fernando (right) both made their international debuts in 2000 © Getty Images

India and Sri Lanka will battle it out in the first Twenty20 International (T20I) at Pune on Tuesday. The match will be the start of a long T20 season, which will see the Asia Cup T20, the ICC World T20 2016, and Indian Premier League (IPL) 9. Each team will want to dominate the other, and it will be down to the individual battles between players that will decide the outcome of the match and the series. Here are some of the key battles to take note of ahead of the first T20I at Pune. READ: India squad for Asia Cup T20 2016: Perfect practice ahead of ICC World T20 2016

Rohit Sharma vs Dushmantha Chameera: India are without their star batsman Virat Kohli, and in his absence Rohit will lead the charge for India’s batting. Rohit’s confidence is sky-high at the moment, having won Man of the Series in the ODIs against Australia and scoring a couple of fifties in the T20Is as well. Sri Lanka will look to their exciting new fast bowler Chameera to stop him. Chameera is quick and recently posed all sorts of problems to New Zealand. He will be the best man to breach Rohit’s defences early. READ: Virat Kohli is the best batsman across formats in international cricket: Proven

Yuvraj Singh vs Dilhara Fernando: The two warhorses return ahead of the ICC World T20 2016. Both Yuvraj and Dilhara are players who were vital members of their respective sides in the 2000s, but have since fallen out of favour. Yuvraj was recalled in the recent T20I series against Australia and did well enough to merit a place in India’s World T20 squad. Meanwhile, Dilhara has remained active in domestic cricket. The under-performing Sri Lanka have called upon Fernando for his experience. It will be interesting to see Dilhara and Yuvraj face off in a battle of the experienced campaigners. READ: Yuvraj Singh and the joy of old heroes

Ashish Nehra vs Dinesh Chandimal: Nehra is another throwback to older days of Indian cricket. The left-arm pacer had last played for India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final against Pakistan before being recalled for the series against Australia, where he bowled well. He too earned a place in India’s squad for the World T20. India will want him to get the better of arguably Sri Lanka’s best batsman and current captain, Chandimal. In Angelo Mathews’ absence Chandimal is one of the most experienced players in the Sri Lankan line-up. He has been in great form recently, and will look to lead Sri Lanka’s batting line-up to a big score. He will be wary of Nehra, who will bring out the old tricks to keep him in check. READ: India squad for Asia Cup T20 2016: Perfect practice ahead of ICC World T20 2016

Ravindra Jadeja vs Milinda Siriwardana: Both Jadeja and Siriwardana are left-arm spinners and hard-hitting batsmen. Given the conditions in India, both men could play huge roles in the series as well as the upcoming World T20. Jadeja is vastly experienced by now, having more or less cemented his spot in the Indian team over the last few years. Siriwardana, by contrast, is a rookie in international cricket but he has already impressed with his canny bowling and confident batting. The battle between the two left-arm spinning all-rounders ought to make for compelling viewing. READ: Pawan Negi: Explosive lower-order hitter and canny left-arm spinner

Hardik Pandya vs Thisara Perera: Much like the case above, Pandya and Perera are players with similar roles. Both are pace-bowling all-rounders and both are capable of clearing the ropes with consummate ease. Thisara is perhaps the better bowler of the two, but has been rather inconsistent with the bat of late. Pandya, meanwhile, is only three T20Is old in international cricket, and has yet to show his batting prowess. However, in domestic cricket, he is fast earning the reputation of being a fearsome hitter. India will want Pandya to carry forward his domestic form at the biggest stage.

(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)

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