Mumbai: After brutally decimating defending champions England by 100 runs in their previous match, India will take on sub-continent rivals Sri Lanka on Thursday at Wankhede Cricket Stadium in Mumbai, where a win will guarantee it a semi-final berth in ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
India now have a 99.5 per cent chance of sealing a spot in the final four.
With six wins from six matches, India, with 12 points, are the only unbeaten team in the World Cup while Sri Lanka are eying their third win in seven games. And the hosts would be expecting a repeat of Asia Cup 2023 final performance here.
In World Cups, these two teams have played 8 matches so far, with 4 wins each. Sri Lanka had last defeated India in 2007. In the last 5 encounters, India have won 4, including 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai.
Team India is expected to play the same team which featured against England. Providing an update on the fitness of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya ahead of his side’s clash against Sri Lanka, captain Rohit Sharma earlier said: “Right now, he is not available for tomorrow’s match.”
He, however, added that the all-rounder’s progress in recovering from an ankle injury was promising.
India vs Sri Lanka probable playing XI
India (IND): Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer/Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Sri Lanka (SL): Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(w/c), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka.
