World Cup, IND vs SL: Kusal Mendis elects to bowl
Eyeing their seventh win on the trot, India will meet Sri Lanka in Match 33 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The Men in Blue can officially secure a semi-final berth with a win. SL are virtually out of the reckoning, having lost four of their six games. Meanwhile, SL skipper Kusal Mendis has won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Match details, timing, and streaming details
The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host the match on November 2 (2:00pm IST). The track here is known for big scores and the batters always get value for their shots. There is some assistance for the pacers with the new ball. Star Sports Network will telecast the match, while fans can live-stream the same on the Disney+Hotstar app.
A look at the head-to-head record
India and Sri Lanka have met on 167 occasions. Team India has claimed 98 wins with the Lankans claiming 57. One match was tied and 11 matches have had no results. In the ODI World Cup, both teams have claimed four wins each. One match didn't have a result. India have won the last two World Cup meetings versus Sri Lanka (2011 and 2019).
Here are the key performers
As per ESPNcricinfo, Virat Kohli owns 2,506 runs versus SL, averaging 62.65. He has smashed 10 tons and 11 fifties. Mohammed Shami owns 180 ODI wickets at 24.65, including 40 at the World Cup. Pathum Nissanka has scored 1,108 runs in 2023. He is the second-highest scorer this year. Kusal Mendis has 3,483 runs in ODIs and he is closing in on 3,500 runs.
Dushan Hemantha comes in for SL
SL have made a solitary change to their playing XI as leg-spinning all-rounder Dushan Hemantha has replaced Dhananjaya de Silva. India have retained their winning combination as Hardik Pandya is yet to regain match fitness.
Here are the playing XIs
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj. Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (WK/C), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka.
