🏏Cricket World Cup 2023: Match #33: IND vs SL, Thread 2, Page 153

🏏Cricket World Cup 2023: Match #33: India vs Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 02/11/2023 at 2PM IST 🏏

India look to seal semi-final spot against struggling Sri Lanka

The two teams will play an ODI at the Wankhede for the first time since the 2011 World Cup final

India. Sri Lanka. The Wankhede. The last time these two teams played an ODI at this venue, the occasion was the 2011 World Cup final. Twelve years later, though, things are a little different.

India have lived up to the billing of being the pre-tournament favourites. They have won all of their six matches so far despite missing Shubman Gill for their first two and Hardik Pandya for the last two. If they beat Sri Lanka on Thursday, they will become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.

Sri Lanka, who made it to this World Cup via the Qualifier route, are struggling to stay alive. They have just four points from six games and are coming off the back of a loss to Afghanistan. Another defeat will push them to the brink of elimination.

India will once again be without Hardik, who is unlikely to return before India's final league match, against Netherlands. That means they could go in with just five frontline bowlers yet again, with a tail starting from No. 8.

Sri Lanka, too, have lost multiple players to injuries, including their designated captain Dasun Shanaka. In his absence, Kusal Mendis took over the reins but it seems to have affected his batting. In the first two games, when Shanaka was the captain, Mendis smashed 198 runs at a strike rate of 166.38. Since then, he has managed just 70 in four innings at a strike rate of 76.08.

Can he find his mojo and inspire his side to a much-needed win? Because not only the semi-final spot is at stake but also the Champions Trophy 2025 qualification.

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India vs Sri Lanka pitch report

The pitch in Mumbai is a batting paradise. South Africa posted grand totals against England and Bangladesh when they played at the Wankhede Stadium. A batting-friendly track should be on offer for today's match as well.

India vs Sri Lanka weather forecast

The skies will mostly remain cloudy for this 2023 World Cup match. There are no chances of rain in Mumbai today, with the temperature expected to range between 30 to 34 degrees Celsius during the match hours.

Pitch and conditions: Runs galore

The Wankhede is always full of runs. The venue has hosted two games so far this World Cup, where South Africa, batting first on each occasion, posted 399 and 382. Expect a similar, high-scoring game once again. The temperature will hover around 35°C, with no forecast of rain.

Team watch:

India

India are unlikely to make any changes to the XI that beat England a few nights ago in Lucknow, unless the think-tank wants to rest Jasprit Bumrah. But that decision will be left to the pacer himself. Apart from that, no other changes look possible. With Hardik Pandya still unavailable -- a BCCI source says he is expected to be fit for the game against South Africa in Kolkata on November 5 if not here in Mumbai on Thursday -- there is little chance for R Ashwin to come in, as a third spinner can be fielded only when all-rounder Pandya is available. For now, that is not happening.

Tactics and strategy

India will want their out-of-form player Shreyas Iyer to get runs so that everyone is in good nick for the tougher tests ahead. His scores so far read: 0, 25, 53, 19, 33 and 4. Fortunately, he will be playing at a venue known for consistent pace and bounce.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Sri Lanka

Tactics and strategy

Sri Lanka's spinners including Maheesh Theekshana have had an indifferent World Cup so far, faring the worst out of all teams. They have together picked only five wickets at an average of 121.6 and will need to step up against a team like India.

Probable XI: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (c & wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka.

The World Cup, the Wankhede, and the Lankans. There's a compellingly resonating familiarity, isn't it? It was April 2, 2011 then; it will be November 2, 2023 now.

Much water has flown into the Arabian Sea since, but little seems to have changed. India are once again the rolling juggernaut and Sri Lanka will have their task cut out, much like it was on that fateful night at this very venue 12 years ago.

The echoes of history may indeed resurface, albeit with a somewhat diminished glory this time around for the home team. While the World Cup itself is not on the line, a spot in the semifinals awaits the home team. They've seemed like a shoo-in for a top-four position ever since their remarkable victory against Australia, emerging from an exceptionally adverse, difficult, and challenging position in the tournament-opener. India's campaign has been brimmeth with authority since.

The Indian team has displayed clockwork precision in nearly all aspects - batting, bowling, and fielding. While they've been in top form, there have been occasional hiccups, such as Shreyas Iyer's recent struggles with the bat and Mohammed Siraj's rather under par performance with the new ball. However, these issues can potentially be addressed in the game on Thursday.

As a local player on his home ground, Iyer has the opportunity to work out his problems and rediscover his form in familiar surroundings. Facing short-pitched deliveries has been a challenge for him, but he has had extended net sessions to address the issue. There have been sporadic suggestions that he should make way for someone like Ishan Kishan, but the team management, led by Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, is unlikely to tamper with the batting order.

Siraj's recent performance with the new ball has not been very impressive but the team management is likely to persist with him too. Besides, the prospect of facing Sri Lanka might help him regain his form. Not too long ago, in the Asia Cup final, he single-handedly decimated the Sri Lankan team, which should serve as a positive memory for the bowler.

Having come from a defeat against Afghanistan and virtually out reckoning for a last-four berth, save the outside mathematical possibility, everything seems lost for Sri Lanka, and that could be the only positive for them. That may allow them to play freely.

In the spotlight: Shreyas Iyer and Angelo Mathews

Shreyas Iyer came into this World Cup as India's first-choice No. 4, and in six innings so far he has 134 runs at an average of 33.50. These are not bad numbers but such is the competition in this Indian side that they guarantee nothing. That he fell to the short ball - an old weakness - in the previous two games doesn't help either. He needs a big score in the next two games, or else India may consider leaving him out once Hardik is back.

Angelo Mathews was not supposed to be in India for this World Cup. But now that he is here, Sri Lanka should make the best use of his abilities - making him bat at No. 7 is not the way to go. Mathews has an excellent record against India: an average of 53.57 and a strike rate of 84.93, with his all three ODI hundreds coming against them. If you consider the matches played in India, that average almost doubles to 105.16 and the strike rate swells to 96.77.

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India ftw

Stats and trivia: Kohli on the cusp of records

• Virat Kohli (48) is one short of equalling Sachin Tendulkar's record of most ODI hundreds.
• Kohli is on the verge of breaking another Tendulkar record. Currently, both are tied for 1000 ODI runs in a calendar year on most occasions (seven). Kohli needs just another 34 runs this year to go past Tendulkar.
• If Shreyas Iyer scores 65 runs in his next three innings, he will become the third-fastest Indian to 2000 ODI runs.
• Mathews has dismissed Rohit Sharma seven times in ODIs - more than any other bowler - including twice on zero. Against Mathews, Rohit averages 14.71 at a strike rate of 58.85.
• Sadeera Samarawickrama is 54 away from 1000 ODI runs. If he gets there on Thursday, he will be the joint-fastest Sri Lankan, alongside Roy Dias (27 innings), to get there.
• Maheesh Theekshana is three short of 50 ODI wickets.

When: November 2, 2023 at 14:00 IST

Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

What to expect: A high-scoring game is expected unless Mohammed Siraj hits his straps against Sri Lanka. The weather is set to be fair.

What they said

"The boys are very aware of the history, to be honest. Obviously, players do talk about the past history of their team as well and the results that they've had. It's a great stadium. We walked in today and the first thing you do is go, wow, this is a great place to play cricket. And when you stand out in the middle, you get that sort of goosebumps. So, for me, there's plenty of things out there to motivate them to go perform in front of what will be a packed house tomorrow as well" - Chris Silverwood on the World Cup history associated with the ground and how it can motivate his players.

"Speaking of the past, obviously, there's hardly one or two players from their squad, from that team, maybe one guy, Angelo (Mathews), and the same from our side as well. There are only two guys (Virat Kohli and R Ashwin) in the squad. So, I don't think -- it's been more than a decade now since that has happened. So, I don't think that is going to be a factor. Everyday, you have to turn up, and you have to turn up well, thinking that this is a fresh day, fresh game, fresh opposition" - Rohit Sharma on the relevance of recent and past games against Sri Lanka to Thursday's World Cup encounter

India vs Sri Lanka 2023 World Cup match prediction

India will start as the overwhelming favorites to win this 2023 World Cup match. The Indian team has played some top-quality cricket in this mega event so far. Also, they have defeated Sri Lanka five times in ODI cricket this year.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have struggled to perform consistently. They have managed only two wins in six matches. It will be quite challenging for the Island nation to give the Indians a run for their money.