What happened the last time India played a T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai?

Team India are set to kick off 2023 with a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, starting on Tuesday, January 3. The first game is scheduled to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from 7.00 pm IST.

Situated in the western part of the country, the Wankhede Stadium is known as a batting paradise, especially in white-ball formats. The extra pace on the surface aids the batters to take a toll on the quicker bowlers, while spinners can also face difficulties due to some short boundaries.

So far, India have played just four T20 internationals in Mumbai, winning two and losing as many. The last time India played a T20I at the Wankhede Stadium was in December 2019. Mumbai hosted the series decider in the three-match series against the West Indies.

After winning the toss, West Indies expectedly opted to bowl first. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul opened up for India and set the tone exceptionally well. The two right-handers' fearless batting destroyed the visitors' bowling attack. Rohit, in particular, didn't let anyone settle in and took on the West Indies spinners, while KL Rahul (91 off 56) held the other end.

Rohit Sharma made a brilliant 71 against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium [Pic Credit: 2019]

The openers stitched together a 135-run opening partnership in just 11.4 overs. After Rohit departed for a well-played 71 off just 34 balls, Rishabh Pant was promoted to No.3 ahead of Virat Kohli, but the young wicket-keeper got out for a duck. Kohli and Rahul then took India to a mammoth total of 240.

Kohli was at his aggressive best, striking at an unbelievable rate of 240+. He hit four hours and seven sixes, which meant 58 of his 70 runs were scored through boundaries.

West Indies always had a huge task on their hands but an injury to Evin Lewis made it even harder. The visitors kept losing wickets at regular intervals and managed to scrape through to a total of 173 for the fall of eight wickets, thanks to Kieron Pollard's 69 runs and Shimron Hetmyer's 41.

Team India eye to start the new calendar year with a win under Hardik Pandya

Team India are prepping for their first limited-overs match of the new year, which will be against Sri Lanka. The tour will begin with a three-match T20I series, before moving on to three ODIs.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja are among those left out of India's relatively young T20I roster. The Men in Blue will be captained by Hardik Pandya, while Suryakumar Yadav has been named as his deputy.

Sri Lanka will begin their New Year with a white-ball series against India from 3 January 2023.

Their squad ➡️ bit.ly/3WGbmKI

#INDvSL https://t.co/pGaKWcNIEn

In an ODI World Cup year, the shortest format is not a priority for India, and the series will provide Pandya and Co. to start planning for the next T20 World Cup, which will take place in the West Indies and the USA in 2024.

With a relatively young team, the hosts will be looking to get their team combination right and start the calendar year of 2023 on a winning note.

India's squad for the Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (vice-captain), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, and Mukesh Kumar.