India vs Sri Lanka, IND vs SL, Today Match Prediction 12 March 2022

ind vs sl Match Prediction & Analysis

The second and the final Test between India and Sri Lanka will be played at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali. The Test will be the first day and night affair between the two countries and is scheduled for 12th March from 2:00 pm local time. The hosts have taken a 1-0 lead after thrashing Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs. 
India dominated Sri Lanka from the first delivery of the first Test. Batting first, the hosts put 574 runs for the loss of 8 wickets on the board. Indian innings saw three fifties from Hanuma Vihari (58), Rishabh Pant (96), and Ravichandran Ashwin (61) followed by an unbeaten knock of 175 runs from Ravindra Jadeja. After a slow start, the Lankan batters failed in the trap of the Indian spinners to get bowled out on 174. 

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma forced a follow-on. The second inning from the Sri Lankan side was more bizarre than the first one. Except for Niroshan Dickkwella (51), Sri Lankan top and middle-order failed miserably once again against the spin attack and got out on 178. Ravindra Jadeja was awarded man of the match for his century and 9 wickets with the ball.

The win was India’s 4th by an innings and 200 plus runs at Mohali. Virat Kohli’s 100th test also saw Ravichandran Ashwin passing Kapil Dev’s 434 wickets to become the second leading wicket-taker for India in Tets. While Jadeja became the first player to score 150 plus and to take 9 wickets in the same Test. He also climbed to the number one all-rounder ranking at the end of the test.

The second Test will be a litmus test for the Sri Lankan side. They haven’t seen a victory in the last 9 Tests against India. The loss has dropped Sri Lanka to the third position in the ICC Test Championship 2021-23 whereas India are now in fifth place with 65 points and a percentage win of 54.16.
India are bookies’ favorite with odds of 1.08.

TEAMS PREVIEW

India Preview

Rohit Sharma will be getting all the sound sleep after a breathtaking performance from the playing eleven. Plus, he now has 13 victories in 13 matches played in all formats under his captaincy. He will open the Indian innings with Mayank Agarwal. The duo scored a 52 runs partnership in the first Test. Looks like more runs will come from these two in the second Test.

Hanuma Vihari was flawless in his 58 runs innings. He will be the ideal option to take third place here onwards if India decides to keep Cheteshwar Pujara out for a long period. Virat Kohli played some classy cover drives to mark his 100th Test but failed to score a deserving half-century. It will be interesting to see if he scores his 71st century in the second Test. The wait now has been more than 2 years. 

Rishabh Pant kept the scorecard running after India was reduced to 228 for the loss of 5 wickets. He now has 5 ninety-plus scores - a record he would not want to repeat. Shreyas Iyer will join Pnt in the middle-order. 

The Ravi’s (Jadeja and Ashwin) will continue to play the all-rounders role for a longer period now. The duo scored 236 runs and took 15 wickets to hand a huge loss to the visitors. Adding more to that Jadeja now has 3 players of the match awards in four tests he played at Mohali. 

Jaspreet Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will lead the pace attack. The only change India might make is by replacing Jayant Yadav with Axar Patel. Yadav didn’t produce much in the first Test. But the expected change is slim as Axar will be joining after a gap of 1 year.

Key Players: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja

India Predicted Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jaspreet Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Jayant Yadav.

India Actual Playing XI:

Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel

Sri Lanka Preview

There is nothing Sri Lanka can do when it comes to facing India in India. They had it in their hand after taking half of the Indian batting order out on 228. But a comeback from Jadeja took everything away from them. Sri Lanka came to the first Test with 6 matches unbeaten streak. It seems they have to forget everything after a humiliating loss. 
Batting was the main concern for Sri Lanka. Their key players didn’t wait long enough to put some resistance. Lankan skipper Karunaratne might go with the same team. He will open with Lahiru Thirimanne. They both scored 29% of the team total in the two innings. Pathum Nisaanka was the only standout player from the first innings. His 61 runs will be enough for Sri Lanka to give him more chances at number three. 

Someone has to ask Angelo Matthews what exactly he is doing in playing eleven. The all-rounder doesn’t bowl. He even got out by playing lethargic shots in both innings. Chamika Karunaratne or Dinesh Chandimal can be the ideal replacement for Matthews in the second game.

Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, and Nisrosha Dickwella will have a huge weight on their shoulder to strengthen the middle-order. If any two of these anchor the innings, Sri Lanka can actually dream of drawing the Test.

Sri Lanka should look forward to adding one extra spinner with Lasith Emdudeniya. Spinners took 60% of the wickets in the first Test and hence should be the focus of Sri Lanka’s plan going forward. Suaranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, and Vishwa Fernando will team up in the pace attack for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka should not reply on the bottom-order to score runs. 6 out of 8 were gone on duck in the first Test. 

Key Players: Dimuth Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Lasith Embuldeniya

Sri Lanka Predicted Playing XI:

Dimuth Karunaratne (C) , Dhananjaya de Silva, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimane, Charith Asalanka, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Angelo Matthews.

Sri Lanka Actual Playing XI:

Niroshan Dickwella, Lasith Embuldeniya, Suranga Lakmal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Vishwa Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Praveen Jayawickrama, Dimuth Karunaratne, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be clear and sunny throughout the Tests. The temperature will range between 17°C and 35°C. The wind will be flowing from the northwest at 18-23 km/h. The pitch is bowling friendly and offers good carry and bounce to pacers in the first innings. It also helps the spin department. 15 of the 20 wickets were taken by Indian spinners on the second and third day of the Test.

Venue Details

The Test series will be played at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali. 14 Tests have been played at Mohali so far. The average 1st innings score is 370. 

Toss: To Bat

In 14 Tests played at IS Bindra Stadium, the team batting second has won 5 times. India has batted first in their last seven victories against Sri Lanka. The team winning the toss should bat first.