India vs Sri Lanka 1st T20 preview: Kohli's men look to begin 2020 on high

After putting up an overall great show last year, Virat Kohli-led India cricket team would look to begin 2020 on a high as they face a well-known opponent in Sri Lanka cricket team in the first T20I at the Barsapara stadium in Guwahati on Sunday. 

The three-T20I series would also be useful for the hosts to prepare for the upcoming series against Australia and New Zealand.

Jasprit Bumrah's comeback after injury would be a highlight as the ace pacer has been out of action since August 2019. India is shouldering responsibility on a young side. Shikhar Dhawan would look to regain his form if he makes it to India's playing 11 while KL Rahul would eye another confidence booster after a decent show in recently concluded series.

India's bowling line-up seems interesting in the absence of Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar. Also, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar would look to make the most of the opportunity and Bumrah's experience would be crucial for India.

In the batting line-up, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube would expect more chances to cement their place in the Indian team for the upcoming series.

Lasith Malinga-led Sri Lanka faces a humongous task of breaking the 11-series losing streak against India as the side has been mostly inconsistent with its form, except the series win against Pakistan. 

Lanka would look to gain from Angelo Mathews' experience but the all-rounder hasn't played a T20I since 2018. The young side would look to mostly rely on all-rounders to hand India an upset.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson.

Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (c), D Gunathilaka, A Fernando, A Mathews, D Shanaka, K Perera, N Dickwella, Dhananjaya De Silva, I Udana, B Rajapaksa, O Fernando, W Hasaranga, L Kumara, K Mendis, L Sandakan, K Rajitha