By: Aditya Ahuja
A lot of memories will come back as India faces their 2011 rivals, Sri Lanka, in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 2. This is the first time these two teams will play at the Wankhede Stadium since the 2011 World Cup final.
India is dominating their path to the 2023 World Cup semifinals, having triumphed over Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. With an impressive record of six wins in six matches and 12 points, India stands as the sole unbeaten team in the World Cup, making them the favorites to extend their winning streak.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka has won only two out of six matches played so far in the World Cup, with a net run rate (NRR) of -0.275, making their chances of making it to the next stage extremely slim.
Indian star all-rounder Hardik Pandya will not be able to play today’s match as he is recovering from an ankle injury that he sustained against Bangladesh on October 19. India captain Rohit Sharma is hopeful that Pandya will be back in action soon enough but ruled him out from the Sri Lanka encounter.
“See, his progress after the injury is very positive. Whatever procedure he had to undergo after the injury, and at the NCA, there were a lot of positive signs. Right now, he is not available for tomorrow’s match,” skipper Rohit Sharma stated in the pre-match press conference.
“But it is an injury that we have to assess every day to see how much he has improved, how much recovery has been made, how much bowling has been done, and how much batting has been done. So, on a day-to-day basis, we would like to make that call,” he added.
A win for Team India today will all but seal their place in the semis.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
Sri Lanka Squad: Kusal Mendis (c), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Angelo Mathews, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera
