By Sudipto Ganguly
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis won the toss and decided to bowl against hosts India in their World Cup round-robin stage match at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Sri Lanka have won two of the six matches they have played in this year’s 50-overs showpiece event and need a victory against the unbeaten hosts to keep alive their hopes of making the semi-finals.
The island nation brought in spin-bowling all-rounder Dushan Hemantha for Dhananjaya de Silva in the only change to their side. The hosts were unchanged.
“I think batting second is better than batting first,” Mendis said. “The players have done well in a couple of matches and are giving their best. Very important three games for us.”
Rohit Sharma’s men have lived up to their billing of favourites for the event, winning all six of their round robin games.
Rohit, who hails from Mumbai and leads the domestic Indian Premier League franchise, said he would have batted first.
“Under lights, it will be nice for our seamers to bowl,” Sharma said. “As a team, we thrive on getting better. Obviously, it’s important for us to not get carried away and stay balanced.”
Teams:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (captain), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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