Medium pacer Sandeep Warrier, replacing an injured Navdeep Saini, will make his T20I debut in the third and final match against Sri Lanka on Thursday as Indian skipper Shikhar Dhawan, eyeing consecutive series wins in Colombo, won the toss and elected to bat first.   

Speaking about his decision, Dhawan said his side has great bowling depth and he is confident they will be able to defend a target. “We’ll look to post a good score. Our bowling is quite strong, so we are going to defend. We are just focusing on today’s game, we are not going to take any pressure from the past,” he said. 

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Meanwhile, his counterpart Dasun Shanaka also confirmed one change for his side, with pacerman Isuru Udana replaced by batsman Pathum Nissanka. He also said that he was comfortable to bowl first, and that early wickets will be crucial to set up a “very important” win. 

“We are happy to bowl first. Early wickets is going to do the trick. It’ll be a big win for us. Winning is very important, it’ll be very nice,” he said. 

Confirmed elevens:

India: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (wk), Nitish Rana, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Warrier, Chetan Sakariya, Varun Chakravarthy

Also Read | India skipper Shikhar Dhawan praises side for putting up a fight in 2nd T20

Sri Lanka: Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Pathum Nissanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera

The three-match series is currently locked at 1-1, with the hosts bouncing back with a four-wicket win in the second T20I after losing the first by 38 runs.

The second T20I was postponed by a day after Indian all-rounder Krunal Pandya tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, with the second and third matche taking place on consecutive days. 

Earlier, India won the three-match ODI series 2-1.