(Sporting Alert) — India and Sri Lanka will do battle in today’s ICC Champions Trophy second semi-finals to see who will meet England in the finals.
India vs Sri Lanka: ICC Champions Trophy on ESPN3.com
Both teams were picked as potential title contenders at the start of the tournament, but only one will get the chance to play in the decider.
India rely heavily on their batting, but the bowler of spinner Ravindra Jadeja has also drawn its share of attention at the tournament so far.
Sri Lanka have also found comfort from their batting line-up, especially with experienced batsmen Mahela Jayawardene, the former captain and wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara.
India will certainly be targeting the two, but captain MS Dhoni also warns his team that all the players are “dangerous.”
“I think they are a dangerous side, so we shouldn’t just concentrate on two individuals,” Dhoni said.
“I think overall if you see their first seven batsmen all of them are very dangerous, so I think we’ll concentrate on all of them rather than thinking about the two individuals.
“But yes, they are someone who have done really well for Sri Lanka, very well they have played, so we have to be aware of the fact, but still we need to prepare also for the whole team.”
Of Course India will start favourites to win a place in the final, still Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews remains confident.
“On our day we can beat any team,” Mathews said. “I’m sure the boys are up for it and are geared up to take on India (today).”
Teams:
India (probably): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav.
Sri Lanka (probably): Lahiru Thirimanne, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews (capt), Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Shaminda Eranga.
