The first match of the tri-series would be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on March 6, 2018, between hosts Sri Lanka and India.
Live Updates:
Overs 1 - India 9/1
India has beaten Sri Lanka in the last seven T20Is:
IND XI: RG Sharma, S Dhawan, S Raina, M Pandey, D Karthik, R Pant, W Sundar, V Shankar, S Thakur, J Unadkat, Y Chahal
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 6, 2018
Sri Lanka has won the toss and elected to field first.
Sri Lanka wins the toss and elects to bowl in the first T20I against India #NidahasTrophy pic.twitter.com/mgjjnzxhbL
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 6, 2018
Virat Kolhi has been rested, and Rohit Sharma is captain of the T20 tri-series in the Nidahas trophy.
The other two teams are hosts Sri Lanka and neighbor Bangladesh. Speaking to the media, Rohit has said that the T20 format is unpredictable and no team is a favorite. All the teams are equally strong, and the contest will be a good one.
It's GAME DAY, Are you Ready!! #NidahasOnDSport #SLvIND #NidahasTrophy2018 Catch All the action Live on DSport. pic.twitter.com/KmN82Sgx50
— DSport (@DSportINLive) March 6, 2018
The tournament is being held to mark the 70th anniversary of Sri Lanka's independence, and the matches will be played under lights at a single venue, namely, the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Rohit addressed a press conference in Colombo along with Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal and Bangladeshi skipper Mahmudullah.
All the skippers expressed confident about their team's performance.
"We are happy to be here and expect to play some good cricket in the Nidahas Trophy" - Captain @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/21BgXLmPcO
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 5, 2018
How the teams stand
India will be without many of the key players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Hardik Pandya.
Sri Lanka also is without some key players like Angelo Mathews and Asela Gunaratne who are injured. The hosts had played two full series at home and away against India but faced defeats in both.
TEAM: Rohit Sharma (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj, Rishabh Pant (wk). pic.twitter.com/9l9sTnXOb3
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 25, 2018
India ranks in the top four of the ICC T20 Rankings in the T20 tri-series while Sri Lanka is in eighth position and Bangladesh at tenth.
The composition of the Indian squad is balanced with a bunch of newcomers who are rearing to go and prove their worth out in the middle.
Tv telecast and live stream online
The Indian Young Guns are ready to take on the subcontinent rivals! Don't miss-out watching #SriLanka vs #India live on DSport today at 6:00PM. #NidahasOnDSport @ImRo45 @SDhawan25 @klrahul11 @ImRaina pic.twitter.com/u0TFSX5m3g
— DSport (@DSportINLive) March 6, 2018
The series will be broadcast live on DSport (English commentary). The Hindi commentary will be available on Rishtey Cineplex/HD. It will also be available on JioTV from 7 PM.
Dsport is available on Tata Sky and on other Dish Tv Networks.