India will try to become the first team to secure a place in the semi-finals when they take on a struggling Sri Lanka team on Thursday. The match will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
In the 33rd match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup, India will face top-ranked Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday afternoon. India have won all six matches in the tournament so far and beat England, the 2019 champions, by 100 runs in their last game on Sunday. Sri Lanka has lost four games and won two this season and lost to Afghanistan by seven wickets in Pune on Monday. This clash, starting at 2pm Mumbai time.
Neither team has been able to match India's batters or their varied bowling attack and we don't expect them to face too many problems from this weakened Sri Lanka side. A win in this game could also provide an opportunity to give the players a break before the final group games.
Sri Lanka appeared to be moving back into contention for the top four places in the tournament with wins over the Netherlands and England in their previous games. However, they were clearly defeated by Afghanistan on Monday and will play against Afghanistan in this game.
Match Preview
Get ready for an exciting clash as cricket giants India (IND) take on Sri Lanka (SL) in the 33rd match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. In direct duels, India has the upper hand against Sri Lanka. Their last encounter in the Asia Cup final ended in a stunning 10-wicket win for India, underlining their dominance.
India go into this match as undefeated World Cup leaders, having won all six matches. In their last game against England, they scored a total of 229 challenging runs while losing 9 wickets. The Indian bowlers showed exceptional skill to restrict England to just 129 runs and secure a convincing 100-run win. Standout performances for India in the game were Rohit Sharma who scored a confident 87 runs, Suryakumar Yadav who contributed with an important 49 runs and Mohammed Shami who showcased his bowling prowess with an impressive 4-wicket haul.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are in a challenging position having won just two of their six matches in this World Cup.
They are currently in 7th place. In their last encounter against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka suffered a setback and lost by seven wickets. Despite scoring a competitive total of 241 runs, Afghanistan managed to clinch victory with seven wickets in hand. Sri Lanka is at a critical moment in the tournament. The coming games are a must-win if you want to secure a place in the semi-finals. The key performers for Sri Lanka in this game were Pathum Nissanka with a solid 46 runs, Kusal Mendis with 39 runs and Dilshan Madhushanka who took two crucial wickets.
Pitch Report
The Wankhede pitch is set to become a haven for batters and provide them with an ideal platform to showcase their skills. While the pacers will find favorable conditions, the batsmen are likely to have a field day on this batting-friendly track. Given the nature of the pitch, opting for the chase could be the preferred strategy for the teams.
Weather Report
The temperature is not expected to drop below 30 degrees during this game on Thursday. Humidity will gradually increase in both the first and second innings of the game.
Toss Prediction
Both matches at this 2023 Cricket World Cup venue were comfortably won by the team that batted first. Our prediction is that both captains will choose to bat first if they win the toss ahead of this game.
Match Prediction
It would be a big surprise if India made a mistake in this game as the team was so strong in the tournament and Sri Lanka couldn't win against Afghanistan in the last game. Our prediction is that India will be too good with both the bat and the ball and that Sri Lanka will struggle throughout. No team has really made India uncomfortable in this competition and we don't expect that to change in this game. We're backing India to win in Mumbai on Thursday.
India beats Sri Lanka.
Head to Head
India has a significant advantage over Sri Lanka when it comes to head-to-head competitions. Of the 167 matches between the two teams, India have won 98 while Sri Lanka have won just 57. 9 games ended without a result and 1 game ended in a draw.
Venue Details
The average first innings score at Wankhede Stadium is 256. In this World Cup, the team batting first at this venue has posted a total score of 399-7 and 382-5 respectively. The highest total at the venue is South Africa's 438-4 against India in 2015. The average runs per over at Wankhede is 5.23. The team batting first in this game would look to set a target of around 320-340 runs.
Betting Tips
Looking at the performance of both teams so far, India are the clear favorites to dominate this competition and we too are backing them to win.
Rohit Sharma – The skipper is just two runs away from reaching 400 runs in the tournament after hitting another ten fours and three sixes in the convincing win over England.
KL Rahul – The keeper-batter has an average of 50.14 from 63 innings in this format and has scored over 2500 ODI runs. He has a top score of 111 against Sri Lanka.
Mohammed Shami – The 33-year-old right-arm fast bowler is quickly becoming an integral part of this team. He now has an overall score of 9/76 from his two tournament appearances.
Jasprit Bumrah - The fast bowler has the ability to bowl over the best batters in the world as was shown when he dismissed Dawid Malan and Joe Root in successive balls in Sunday's game.
Sri Lanka Key Players
Pathum Nissanka - The 25-year-old opener was dismissed four runs shy of his fifth consecutive half-century but still looked good at the wicket.
Kusal Mendis – The captain and keeper-batsman seemed to be back in form as he scored 39 runs in the last game. On his day, he is an excellent player with a top score of 122 in ODIs.
Dilshan Madushanka - After failing to take a wicket in the win against England, the left-hander failed to score in both of Afghanistan's openers on Monday, including against Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over.
Kasun Rajitha - The high-pace bowler gave Sri Lanka hope with the wicket of Rahmat Shah in the 28th over and is yet to go wicketless in the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
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