The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team will face Sri Lanka in match no. 33 of the ODI World Cup 2023 on Thursday. The IND vs SL clash is set to take place at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from 2 PM IST onwards.
India, with 12 points from six outings, have one foot in the semifinals and a win on Thursday will confirm their place in the last-four.
Rohit Sharma asserted on Wednesday that despite the workload on his bowlers during the World Cup they were in ‘great rhythm’ and willing to give off their best without wanting any rest.
“As far as resting for the bowlers is concerned, I think they are in great rhythm at this point in time. They don’t want to rest. (Their) body is fine. This is the feedback that I have got from all the bowlers. So, they are happy to play games,” Rohit told the media during the team’s optional session.
Rohit also indicated that spinners will continue to play a vital role in the middle overs in the upcoming matches and three slow bowlers was a possibility on Thursday.
“All sorts of combinations are possible. You can still play with three spinners and two seamers if need be,” the skipper said in response to a query if there will be changes in the bowling line-up for the game against Sri Lanka.
Rohit, who has been India’s leading run-getter in the World Cup with 398 runs in six matches, did not want to take all the credit for the team’s success and instead said that everyone was complying in his role.
“It’s not my thought process (that India is enjoying a dream run), it’s the team’s thought process that the guys comply with. When things look good, everything looks good, everything works well,” he said.
“I know how this whole thing works. I’m quite aware of one game here and there, I know suddenly I’ll be a bad captain. I know how it works. I try and do what is necessary from the team’s perspective and be sure of that,” he said.
India’s bowling attack makes the opposition envious and Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood on Wednesday minced no words in admitting that any team in the world would want to have a line-up like that.
At the same time, he also hoped that his team puts together a combined show in their World Cup clash against the hosts. Sri Lanka are languishing in the bottom half of the table, placed at the seventh spot at the moment.
“If you look at that bowling attack and you watch them operate, it is a very strong bowling attack. I think any team in the world would want an attack like that, to be honest,” Silverwood told the media here during the team’s training session.
“But we see that as a great challenge for our guys. We see it as an opportunity to go out and play against the best and see, I mean, pit ourselves against that. But there is no hiding it is a very good bowling attack ,” Silverwood said.
Silverwood highlighted Sri Lanka’s inability to take wickets in the middle overs as one of the reasons for their largely disappointing show in the World Cup.
“Obviously power down the bottom, so when we do get a good start it is making sure that we finish innings off strong and obviously push on to big scores, and then taking wickets in the middle phase is something that we’re constantly working on ,” he said.
“It is not easy on good wickets but we have to find a way and we have to find a way of taking those wickets. Otherwise, you are allowing other people to get big scores, making our lives difficult,” Silverwood added.
The IND vs SL World Cup 2023 match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network in India.
Disney+ Hotstar will livestream the India vs Sri Lanka World Cup 2023 match on its app and website.
Sri Lankan fans in the island country can watch the match live on TV1,
Sirasa TV and Shakthi TV. Live streaming of the IND vs SL match will be available on sirasatv.lk in Sri Lanka.
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (c and wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka.
(With PTI inputs)
