Sri Lanka faces an uphill task today as they take on the undefeated India team at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai commencing at 2 p.m.
The India team led by Rohit Sharma, aims to continue their winning streak, while the Sri Lanka team, led by wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis is determined to bounce back strongly after an unexpected defeat in their last match against Afghanistan in Pune last Monday.
Sri Lanka made several mistakes while Afghanistan outplayed them, recording a stunning victory with five overs to spare and seven wickets in hand.
Sri Lanka’s top order and middle order failed to make an impact on the Pune wicket, and they were restricted to 241, which proved insufficient to defend.
“We didn’t get a good start, and the middle order was under immense pressure. We never expected that type of playing style from our side, especially against Afghanistan,” said an official of the Sri Lankan team.
Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama are the only two batsmen who have made significant contributions in this tournament. Nissanka with back-to-back four half-centuries, has been the most successful batter, while Sadeera, the number 4 batter has a century against Pakistan and a half-century against the Netherlands. They must replicate their performances. Skipper Kusal Mendis needs to regain his normal batting style to build innings. Sri Lankan openers’ inability to provide a strong start is a major concern for the team. Only Nissanka has been consistent, but Kusal Janith Perera has been out of form, and experienced Dimuth Karunaratne struggled in his first game in Pune. Karunaratne should take on more responsibility with his experience in this Indian game. However, the middle-order has been a weak point in the tournament, with Dhananjay de Silva the experienced all-rounder, failing to perform with both bat and ball. Dasun Shanaka, the number seven batsman, and his replacement Chamika Karunaratne also struggled with the bat. The responsibility to fill that gap falls on experienced Angelo Mathews. In the previous game, Mathews tried to boost the total but made mistakes, giving more chances to Maheesh Theekshana, who eventually got out after hitting a few shots. Matthews was not in good form and was caught at long-on position.
Sri Lanka is considering making one change, possibly at the 6th position, to replace either Dunith Wellalage or Dushan Hementha. If Dunith Wellalage joins the side, Matthews will bat at number 6, followed by Wellalage at number 7. Kasun Rajitha and Dilshan Madushanka will serve as the two pacemen and Matthews will take up the third pacemen role. Theekshana, the mystery spinner, fell short of expectations, even though he had to shoulder the entire responsibility in the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga.
The India side has a good advantage, having won all six matches and they plan to exert considerable pressure on the Sri Lanka team to secure another two points.
Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder will once again miss this game due to injury and he will replaced by Suryakumar Yadav. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj are in good form as pacemen, while the two spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav provide additional strength. This same bowling attack had bowled out Sri Lanka for 51 runs in the Asia Cup final, leaving a lasting psychological impact. Siraj completed a five-wicket haul in just 16 balls to ensure India lifted the Asia Cup for the eighth time.
Dhammika Ratnaweera reporting from India