Having won six games on the trot, Rohit Sharma and Co will face Sri Lanka in a league stage game at the 2023 ODI World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai at 2pm today.
The Men in Blue come into the game on the back of a 100-run drubbing of defending champions England on Sunday in Lucknow.
With one leg already in the semifinal, India have a 99.5 percent chance of sealing a spot in the final four, but a win today at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium will all but guarantee it.
For Sri Lanka, a defeat against Afghanistan in Pune came as a setback after the 1996 winners had bested England at the Chinnaswamy Stadium last week.
With six wins from six matches, India, with 12 points, are the only unbeaten team in the World Cup and on current form, are favourites to extend their victory march by another game.
The Kusal Mendis-led side has just two wins from six games and with the tournament reaching closer to its business end, chances of a semifinal spot are dwindling.
The Lankans currently sit 7th on the ICC World Cup Points Table with 4 points and a net run rate of -0.275. The Kusal Mendis-led side will be looking to get back to winning ways and stay alive in the tournament.
The fierce contest is equally significant for Sri Lanka, who in all probability are out of contention for a place in the semis but are alive mathematically. Not only do they need to win their remaining three matches, but will also depend on the outcomes of other teams.
Their campaign suffered a blow when Dasun Shanaka was ruled out, but Angelo Mathews’ dream return injected some confidence back when Sri Lanka hammered England. The upswing however did not last, as following a defeat to Afghanistan, Sri Lanka slipped to the bottom half of the points table. But they will take heart from some of the individual performances that have lifted them in bits and pieces.
Fast bowlers Dilshan Madushanka and Kasun Rajitha have combined to pick 20 wickets, while Sadeera Samarawickrama has been the star with the bat with 331 runs from six matches.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma’s India remain the only unbeaten side in the tournament with 6 wins in a row. The Men in Blue will be looking to become the first team in the tournament to qualify for the semi-finals.
Shreyas Iyer, who will be playing on this home ground, will be in the spotlight against the Lankans with 134 runs in 6 matches so far at an average of 33.50. Shreyas hasn’t set the World Cup stage ablaze this year, with opposition teams targeting his well-known weakness against short deliveries.
India World Cup squad:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.
Sri Lanka World Cup squad
Kusal Mendis (c&wk), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Kumara, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Angelo Mathews, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha, Chamika Karunaratne.
