The morale of Sri Lanka is down, but they are still trying to sneak into the semi-finals. They lost their last match against Afghanistan by seven wickets but have not lost their hopes. Sri Lanka will go in with full steam for their 2023 ODI World Cup match against India on Thursday, November 2, and the other two games. They will need luck to be in their favour and win their remaining three matches to get a chance to play in the next stage of the tournament. (Scorecard | Match Blog | Preview | Streaming)
In their last match against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka scored 241 runs but couldn’t defend the total as the bowlers were struggling to get wickets. Sri Lanka got a breakthrough in the very first over but failed to break the big partnerships of the Afghan batters. The defeat in the last match is a wake-up call for Sri Lanka that there are lacunae they need to deal with.
India, on the other hand, are riding high with their exceptional performance in this World Cup. Winning six out of six matches is special and the credit goes to the captain and the whole team. In their last match, they defeated England by 100 runs and every strategy applied by captain Rohit Sharma turned out to be successful and is visible in the records. He keeps motivating the team and knows how to bring the best out of them. One more win and India will be into the semi-finals.
Following are the three key battles that could shape the IND Vs SL match in Mumbai:
Rohit Sharma Vs Dilshan Madushanka
India captain Rohit Sharma is in his best form and has scored in almost every match in this World Cup. He has scored 398 runs in six games and is among the leading run-scorers in this tournament. In the last match against England, Rohit scored 87 runs. But it will be a tough challenge when he will face Dilshan Madushanka on Thursday. The left-arm seamer has picked 13 wickets in the tournament already. Madushanka took two wickets in his last match and will hope to get the wicket of ‘Hitman’.
Virat Kohli Vs Kasun Rajitha
All eyes will be on another interesting battle between Virat Kohli and Kasun Rajitha. Kohli has performed well so far and has scored 354 runs in six matches. He has played his role well at number 3 and anchored India’s chases beautifully. But he got a duck in his last match against England and will be looking forward to make amends. On the other hand, Kasun Rajitha has taken eight wickets in just four matches and his bowling has been appreciated. It will be thrilling to watch when Kohli and Rajtha face off.
Jasprit Bumrah Vs Sadeera Samarawickrama
Jasprit Bumrah is one of the highest wicket-takers in the tournament and will be looking forward to continuing his journey by challenging Sadeera Samarawickrama in the clash in Mumbai. The India pace spearhead has picked up 14 wickets in six matches, including three important wickets in the last game against England. Sadeera Samarawickrama, meanwhile, has been the in-form batter for Sri Lanka and has scored 330 runs in six matches, including a century and two fifties. Bumrah will be looking to get his crucial wicket, while Samarawickrama will try to essay his role well so that Sri Lanka can pull off a win against India.
