IND vs SL: Suryakumar Yadav likely to play against Sri Lanka due to rare instance as India look to enter final

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IND vs SL: India will take on Sri Lanka in their second Super Fours match of the Asia Cup 2023 after beating Pakistan by 228 runs in a match which ended in two days due to rain in Colombo.

In a rare instance, the Indian ODI team will be in action for the three consecutive days. The India versus Pakistan started on Sunday but could witness only 24.1 overs of play. The match was taken to the reserve day (Monday, September 11) and after a delayed start, the two teams finished the match with India on the winning side.

The match got over around 11 PM on Monday, leaving India with 14 hours to return to the R Premadasa Stadium to play against Sri Lanka. In a conversation with Mohammad Kaif and Irfan Pathan, India batter KL Rahul, who scored unbeaten 111 runs off 106 balls, joked about the team planning to sleep in the dressing room and not go to the hotel altogether.

KL Rahul and Virat Kohli collaborated for a marathon partnership of 233 not out runs off 194 balls. In extremely humid conditions in Colombo, Kohli ran as many as 38 singles and 15 doubles. KL Rahul, on the other hand, ran 39 singles and six doubles. Towards the end of the India innings, the two players, especially Kohli were seen gasping for breath.

Kohli also requested for a short interview while receiving the Man of the Match award.

"Its the first time I have done anything like this in 15 years of cricket (playing ODI matches for 3 back-to-back days). Luckily we are Test players, so we know how to come back the next day and play. Recovery is crucial. It was humid out there today. I am 35 in November, so I need to take care of my recovery," Kohli told Sanjay Manjrekar.

IND vs SL: Why Suryakumar Yadav has a chance to play against Sri Lanka

Keeping the well being and fitness of their players in mind, the management could opt to rest either KL Rahul or Virat Kohli. Rahul, who is making a comeback after a serious thigh injury, also kept wickets on Monday and the management could opt to give him a rest to avoid any other injury ahead of the World Cup 2023.

Shreyas Iyer was ruled out minutes before the match against Pakistan due to a back spasm and India cannot afford another injury concern. Virat Kohli is also India's main man and resting him won't be a bad idea either.

In that case, Suryakumar Yadav becomes the favourite to be inducted in the India playing eleven.Tilak Varma is also in the squad but is unlikely to get a chance. He hasn't been named in India's World Cup squad.

IND vs SL: India might play same eleven which played against Pakistan

However, it should be noted that India wrapped up Pakistan innings in just 32 overs. Also, like Kohli said, he is a veteran of 111 Test matches and taking the field after a gap of 14 overs would not matter to him much. He is also among the fittest Indian cricketers at the moment.

Also, KL Rahul is just making his comeback and breaking his momentum after the stellar hundred against Pakistan could be avoided. The remaining players did not bat at all as the two batters remained unbeaten and helped India post 356/2 in 50 overs.

Among bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja bowled five overs each. Shardul Thakur bowled four overs, while spinner Kuldeep Yadav bowled 8 overs.

The fitness standards of all these players are top notch. Also, a win against Sri Lanka will send India into the final. They can test their bench strength in their final Super Fours match against Bangladesh on Friday. In this case, there is a high chance of India playing with the same eleven today (Tuesday) as well. Rain interruptions (if any) will only make the contest shorter.