Pune: India captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to bowl first in the second T20I against Sri Lanka at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium, here on Thursday.
Pandya, who wanted to bat first in the series opener, said the dew was the major reason why he decided to field first here.
India made two changes in the team that won the first match by two runs at the Wankhede. With Sanju Samson out with a knee injury, local boy Rahul Tripathi was handed his debut while pacer Arsshdeep Singh, who has recovered from his injury, came in for Harshal Patel.
Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka said he would have batted first anyway because he was told that batting first was an advantage on this ground. He said they were going into the match unchanged.
Playing XIs:
India: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Rahul Tripathi, Hardik Pandya (c), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Shivam Mavi, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka.
(IANS)
