GameDay Squad Cricket Match Preview: India come up against Sri Lanka in the 33rd match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in Mumbai on the 2nd of November.
India played England in their sixth match of the CWC, and India won by 100 runs. England won the toss and elected to field first. After a steady start with the bat, India lost the wickets of Gill and Kohli within the first power play. Iyer was dismissed by Woakes shortly after and India found themselves 40/3 in the 12th over. Sharma and Rahul put a good partnership together of 91 for the fourth wicket before Rahul was dismissed for 39 with the score at 131/4 in the 31st over. The Indian batsmen continued to struggle against the English bowling attack as they made their way through to 229/9 at the end of their 50 overs. India started well with the ball and had England 39/4 in the 10th over. The Indian bowlers continued to bowl very well and managed to bowl England all out for 129 in the 35th over. Once again, Shami lead the way with the ball and took four wickets.
The top performers in GDS for India were.
Mohammed Shami – 150 points
Jasprit Bumrah – 125 points
Rohit Sharma – 111 points
Kuldeep Yadav – 78 points
Ravindra Jadeja – 70 points
Sri Lanka played Afghanistan in their sixth match of the CWC, and Afghanistan won by 7 wickets. Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field first. Sri Lanka were off to a steady start but did lose the wicket of Karunaratne in the 6th over with the score at 22. Sri Lanka never really got going with the bat and they lost regular wickets. None of their batsmen managed to score a fifty, this came down some very good bowling from Afghanistan and some poor decisions by the Sri Lankan batsmen. Sri Lanka ended up being all out for 241 in the 50th over. Sri Lanka started extremely well with the ball and dismissed Gurbaz on the fourth ball of the innings. After this dismissal it was all Afghanistan. Sri Lanka only managed to pick up two further wickets as Afghanistan made it to the target of 242 in the 46th over.
The top performers in GDS for Sri Lanka were.
Dilshan Madushanka – 65 points
Kasun Rajitha – 60 points
Maheesh Theekshana – 56 points
Pathum Nissanka – 55 points
Kusal Mendis – 46 points
Wankhede Stadium & Pitch Information
In the last seven matches played at the venue, four have been won by the team batting second. The average first innings score over these seven matches has been 308 while the highest target chased is 281. The pitch has been great for batting in recent times. In this CWC, South Africa showed us how good it is to bat on with scores of 399 against England and 382 against Bangladesh. Teams have favored bowling first in recent times but that may change after what we have seen at this ground during the CWC.
India vs Sri Lanka predicted XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dinuth Wellalage/Dhananjaya de Silva, Kasun Rajitha, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka and Dushmantha Chameera
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
Batters
The three batters that I am likely going to start will be Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli. Over the CWC these batters average the following points in GDS.
Rohit Sharma – 88 points
Shubman Gill – 41 points
Virat Kohli – 79 points
In GDS there are seven players combined from India and Sri Lanka that have the batter position designation. All seven these players are predicted to play, five from India and two from Sri Lanka. Sharma and Kohli are the first two batsmen picked for me. Other than the duck against Australia, Sharma has scored 131, 86, 48, 46 and 87 with the bat. This comes to an average of 80 runs over his last five matches. Kohli is coming off a duck against England but has scored one 100 and three 50s in the tournament. I’m leaning to Gill as my third batter. This is more about fading the Sri Lankan batsmen against the India bowling attack. Bumrah and Shami have been in devastating form, and I think it’s a risky play playing any Sri Lankan batsman. However, Nissanka has been having a good tournament and is averaging 61 points in GDS. If you think he will continue his good form, he can be a great POD option for this match. I’ll be avoiding Iyer and Yadav as they bat further down the order as I don’t want to risk them not batting if India bowl first and bowl Sri Lanka out cheaply.
If you don’t have the suggested three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining batters for India and Sri Lanka in the following order. Pathum Nissanka, Shreyas Iyer, Dimuth Karunaratne and Suryakumar Yadav.
All-Rounders
The four all-rounders that I am likely going to start will be Ravindra Jadeja, Charith Asalanka, Dinuth Wellalage/Dhananjaya de Silva. Over the CWC these all-rounders average the following points in GDS.
Ravindra Jadeja – 76 points
Dunith Wellalage – 46 points
Charith Asalanka – 36 points
Dhanajaya de Silva – 28 points
In GDS there are eight players combined from India and Sri Lanka that have the all-rounder position designation. Three of these eight players are predicted to play, one from India and two from Sri Lanka. Due to injuries at this position for both teams, we may only have three all-rounds to fill in the four all-rounder positions. Not to worry, every GDS coach is in the same boat and will only be fielding three all-rounders. From a fantasy point of few, hopefully we see both Wellalage and de Silva play.
Bowlers
The three bowlers that I am likely going to start will be Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Dilshan Madushanka. Over the CWC these bowlers average the following points in GDS.
Mohammed Shami – 150 points
Jasprit Bumrah – 98 points
Dilshan Madushanka – 79 points
In GDS there are ten players combined from India and Sri Lanka that have the bowler position designation. Seven of these ten players are predicted to play, four from India and three from Sri Lanka. Over the two matches played at this ground in the CWC, 31 wickets have fallen. Of these, 25 have been to the seam and 6 to spin. Going by these numbers, I’ll be fading the spin bowlers in this match. Shami and Bumrah are the first two bowlers picked for me. Shami has only played two matches so far and has been outstanding with the ball, taking nine wickets over these games. Bumrah has also been great with the ball and has taken 14 wickets over his six matches. Selecting the third bowler is a coin flip between Rajitha and Madushanka. Even though Rajitha has a better average in GDS, I’m leaning towards Madushanka. These two players have played in the same match on four occasion this CWC and in three of these, Madushanka has scored more points than Rajitha. Siraj has had a great 2023 but has missed his mark so far in the CWC. I think he might be the best POD option for this match as I’m expecting India to dominate this contest.
If you don’t have the suggested three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining bowlers for India and Sri Lanka in the following order. Kasun Rajitha, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav and Maheesh Theekshana.
Wicket Keeper
The wicket keeper that I am likely going to start will be KL Rahul. Over the CWC these wicket keepers average the following points in GDS.
KL Rahul – 53 points
Kusal Mendis – 71 points
Sadeera Samarawickrama – 72 points
I currently have Rahul as my keeper in this match with the hope that India bat first. If Sri Lanka bat first, I’ll be starting either Mendis or Samarawickrama. There is honestly nothing separating Mendis and Samarawickrama over the CWC. In GDS, Mendis has scored a total of 426 points and Samarawickrama 431. I have ranked Samarawickrama just ahead because he has been in better form with the bat over the last four matches. He’s scored 200 runs compared to Mendis scoring 70 over these matches.
If you don’t have the suggested player in your squad, I have ranked the remaining wicket keepers for India and Sri Lanka in the following order. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Kusal Mendis.