February 15, 2022 media 0

Sri Lanka’s tour of India to begin on February 24 with T20I series

Lucknow will host the first T20I now and Dharamsala the next two. The two Tests will be played in Mohali and Bengaluru

The BCCI has announced the revised dates and venues for Sri Lanka’s tour of India, which will comprise three T20Is and two Tests. The tour begins with the first T20I in Lucknow on February 24, with the other two being back-to-back matches in Dharamsala on February 26 and 27.

This will be followed by the first Test in Mohali from March 4, before the tour concludes with a day-night Test in Bengaluru starting March 12. Both Tests will be a part of the second cycle of the World Test Championship.

Originally, the tour was scheduled to begin with the T20I series followed by the Tests, but as reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier, the BCCI decided to change the sequence. This was done after SLC’s request to allow a smoother bubble-to-bubble transfer of their T20I squad, which will have concluded a series in Australia just four days ahead of the first T20I against India.

Another change was in the venues. Initially, the first Test was to be played in Bengaluru and the second in Mohali, while the T20Is were to be held in Mohali, Dharamsala and Lucknow. Now ending the tour in Bengaluru facilitates the visiting Sri Lanka side with a direct flight to Colombo.

This will only be India’s third day-night Test at home – they hosted Bangladesh in 2019 and England in 2021 – and their fourth overall, the same number as Sri Lanka. Both teams have won two and lost one of their three day-night Tests so far.

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