Sri Lanka vs India, one-off T20I: Statistical Preview

IANS

New Delhi: Team India is all geared up to demolish Sri Lankan hope in the one-off T20I encounter when the two teams lock horn at the Premadasa Stadium, on Wednesday.

Heading in for the last match of the month-long tour, Virat Kohli-led side is the obvious favourite. Having whitewashed the Islanders in both the Test and ODI series, the tourists would definitely be aiming to get a tick in the one-off T20I.

The beleaguered hosts have made a few changes in their squad too. They have roped in leg spinner Jeffrey Vandersay and all-rounder Dasun Shanaka for the T20 game, while seamer Suranga Lakmal will make a return after an injury put him on the sidelines.

Here are the statistics in line for the one-off T20I encounter between India and Sri Lanka to be played at Premadasa Stadium, on Wednesday...

1) The two teams have so far played 10 T20I games with the Men in Blue holding the upper edge over the Islanders winning six matches and losing in the remaining. In fact, it the second-highest on the list of most wins in T20Is against a team and Virat Kohli's men, therefore, join Pakistan and South Africa. But leading the chart is Team India with nine victories over Australia.

2) India skipper Virat Kohli needs 37 more runs to edge past Suresh Raina and become the highest T20I run-getter in an India-Sri Lanka encounter in the shortest format of the game.

3) Team India so far has eight consecutive victories over Sri Lanka – three coming from the Test series and five from the ODIs. One more victory and they would join Australia in the list of most consecutive wins against an opposition. Australia have nine such wins over the Islanders from 1985 to 1987. However, leading the chart are West Indies and Australia. Both have 10 consecutive victories each.

4) Kohli needs just one more 50-plus score to top the list and surpass Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara in the list of most 50s and above in a India-Sri Lanka T20I encounter.

5) Adding to the above one, another half-century would push him atop on the list of most half-centuries against Sri Lanka in T20Is. He now stands alongside former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi with three such knocks.

6) The 28-year-old needs just seven more runs to become the seventh Indian batsman to reach the mark of 15,000 runs across all formats of the game.

7) Kohli needs 32 runs more to leapfrog Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad (1779) in list of top run scorers in T20Is. In doing so, the Delhi dasher would stand fourth on the list, behind – Brendon McCullum (2140), Tillakaratne Dilshan (1889) and Martin Guptill (1806).

8) Mahendra Singh Dhoni needs one more half-century to amass his tally to 100 fifties, thus making him the fourth Indian batsman to reach the mark, but accounting overall statistics, he will be the 14th on the all-time list.

9) Dhoni needs just 23 runs to leapfrog former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin (15,593) to stand fifth on the list of most runs for India accounting all three formats of the game.

10) The wicketkeeper-batsman needs 69 more runs to become the eighth batsman to reach the 3000-run mark in international cricket against Sri Lanka accounting all three formats of the game.

11) The Ranchi-based cricketer needs one more dismissal to edge past former South African player Mark Boucher in the list of most dismissals on foreign soil. Both sit atop with 475 dismissals, accounting all formats of the game.

12) Spinner all-rounder Axar Patel needs to scalp two more wickets to complete 50 wickets in inetrnational cricket.