Upbeat India lock horns with undercooked Sri Lanka in a battle of contrasting objectives

As India gear up for another crucial battle in the ongoing World Cup, this time they will be confronting Sri Lanka, hoping to make it seven out of seven. With six wins from six matches so far, India are already within touching distance of the semis and another victory will simply bolster their case before they take on South Africa in a swashbuckler at the Eden Gardens.

Sri Lanka, on the contrary, are just a defeat away from splashing headfirst into a situation from which there could potentially be no return. With two wins from six matches and a NRR of -0.275, the odds are stacked up overwhelmingly against the visitors.

India will still be without Hardik Pandya as he continues with his recovery after spraining his ankle against Bangladesh. However, Mohammed Shami and Suryakumar Yadav have very efficiently slotted in for Pandya, and team India will be persistent in terms of chasing that seventh win, particularly ahead of their fixture against South Africa.

With all said and done, the Men in Blue will be hopeful of continuing their fine run in the tournament against an opponent who have been a dwindling shadow of their former glorious selves. Sri Lanka will also be eyeing that third win for themselves which will keep them alive in the fray, but only barely.

Venue Watch:

Wankhede has always been a paradise for the batters and with every passing delivery being bowled, it is going to turn even better for the ones wielding the willow. The average first innings score in the ground reads a decent 243 while the average second innings score drops down to 201, which is contrary to the nature of the surface of late. However, the team batting second will have slight more assistance than the ones setting target with the dew setting in.

Head to Head:

Matches played: 167

India – 98

Sri Lanka - 57

Match Details:

Match – India vs Sri Lanka

Venue: Wankhede, Mumbai

Date: 2nd November, 2023

Time: 2:00 PM

World Cup face-offs:

Matches played: 9

India: 4

Sri Lanka: 4

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

England: Chamika Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera (wk), Dimuth Karunaratne, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka, Angelo Matthews, Lahiru Kumara