The 2018 Nidahas Trophy in cricket is scheduled to begin in March. Derived from the Sanskrit word for freedom Nidahas, the Nidahas Trophy is being held to celebrate 70 years of Sri Lankan Independence. The first Nidahas Trophy was held in 1998 to mark the 50 years of Sri Lankan Independence. It was held between Sri Lanka, India and New Zealand. It was also the only time it was held and India became the champions during that tournament.
The tri-nation series will be held between India, Sri-Lanka and Bangladesh. The trophy is also being called as Independence Cup 2018.
The three countries will battle it out for the trophy in the Twenty20 format. All the matches will be played at the R.Premdasa Stadium in Colombo. Indians in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and UK can stream Independence Cup 2018 beginning 6th March exclusively via YuppTV.
As Sri Lanka had graciously agreed to tour India during India’s 70th Independence Day celebrations, Indians have returned the favor and are looking to start a new chapter in cricket. India is already on a whirl-wind tour of South Africa where it has played tests and ODI (one day-international), where it is currently enjoying a lead of 2-0 in
the ODI series against the home team.
Sri Lanka had one of their worst cricketing years in 2017. Facing 10 T20 losses and scraping only 5 victories, they are looking to up their game. The furor in the cricketing board, resignations and dismissal contributed to the lack of focus by the players. Recently re-appointed captain Angelo Mathews will have a lot to prove as he tries his best to
lead his squad against the number 3 ranked India.
Shakib-Al-Hassan of Bangladesh is also keen to change his number 10 ranking and will be eager to meet the teams on the field. His last year’s performance as a captain and a player, where they leveled all series (test, ODI and T20) with Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka will provide a huge mental boost to the players.
Virat Kohli has constantly proved his mettle as a captain and as a player but he also has had to deal with criticism. Independence Cup 2018 comes at the end of an already long tour for the Indian squad and they will have to perform their best. India will be looking to break the record for their biggest win made last year by beating Sri Lanka by 93 runs.
The tri-nation series is highly anticipated and all three teams will play each other twice during that. Final match is going to be played on 18th March 2018. The schedule of total series follows as below
March 6, 2018: Sri Lanka vs India
March 8, 2018: India vs Bangladesh
March 10, 2018: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh
March 12, 2018: Sri Lanka vs India
March 14, 2018: India vs Bangladesh
March 16, 2018: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh
March 18, 2018: Final
