Sri Lanka's Predicted XI vs India, Cricket World Cup 2023: Will Angelo Mathews Retain His Place?

The 1996 World Cup champions Sri Lanka are struggling to make their mark and find themselves in a tricky situation from here. Up next, they are preparing for a test of their strength against hosts India at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai for match no. 33 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Thursday, November 2. After beginning the tournament with three defeats on the trot, including a forgettable bowling performance against Pakistan where they failed to defend a 346-run target, Sri Lanka opened their account in the ongoing edition in their last game against the Netherlands.

To add to their confidence, they went on to beat England with a comprehensive all-round performance. After bowling out the defending champions for only 156 runs, the Lankan batters chased the total in 25.4 overs to win by eight wickets. Lahiru Kumara (3/35 in seven overs) was named Player of the match.

However, that good work went in vain as they faced a defeat against Afghanistan in their previous match, denting their ambitions of making it to the semi-finals. Sri Lanka could only manage 241 runs batting first and in response, Afghanistan completed the run chase in 45.2 overs.

Injury concerns have been looming large on them since the beginning of the tournament. Skipper Dasun Shanaka was first to head out of the tournament, handing over captaincy responsibilities to Kusal Mendis. 

Now, their fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana has returned home due to an injury. Sri Lanka have been granted permission to bring Angelo Mathews as a replacement, but the veteran all-rounder has made only three appearances in the last two-and-a-half years.

India, on the other hand, have picked up six wins in six matches. In their previous match, they defeated defending champions England by 100 runs. After Rohit Sharma's 87 off 101 balls guided India to 229/9 batting first, England were bowled out for 129 runs courtesy of terrific spells from Mohammad Shami (4/22) and Jasprit Bumrah (3/32).

Here's how the Lankan team might line up for this clash against the Indians.

Openers: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne

Pathum Nissanka will pair up once again with the experienced Dimuth Karunaratne. Pathum Nissanka has been consistent throughout the tournament, scoring 289 runs in six innings so far, which includes four half-centuries.

The hard-hitting Kusal Perera had one big knock of 78 against Australia and was dropped to accommodate Dimuth Karunaratne in the XI. The 35-year-old was off to a good start in his first match of the tournament against Afghanistan, but only managed 15 off 21 balls.

Middle order: Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka

Kusal Mendis was the in-form batter for Sri Lanka heading into the tournament and the current Lankan skipper has been batting as aggressively as the team is demanding. He has scored 268 runs at a strike-rate of 127.01, which includes one fifty and one century.

Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka are two backbones of their middle order and both batters have contributed in the last couple of games. In four matches, Samarawickrama has scored 331 runs at an average of 82.75, while Asalanka has notched up 171 runs.

All-rounders: Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews

Dhananjaya de Silva is one of their most experienced all-rounders and if Sri Lanka are to emerge out of this predicament, they need him to perform well. He has not been up to the mark so far, scoring 87 runs and is yet to pick up any wickets with the ball.

Sri Lanka have given Chamika Karunaratne a couple of opportunities, where he failed to make a contribution with the bat and ball and Angelo Matthews was added to the XI straight away. He got two big wickets with the ball against England and scored a quickfire 23 against Afghanistan.

Bowlers: Kasun Rajitha, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushmantha Chameera

Kasun Rajitha and Dilshan Madushanka shone in the match against the Netherlands, both returning with four wickets each. Madushanka now has 14 wickets in six matches and is one of the leading wicket-takers, whilst Rajitha's confidence too will boom as he now has eight wickets in four appearances.

Maheesh Theekshana will be their x-factor bowler in Mumbai, where bowlers might not have a lot of support from the track. Although he has been economical, he has picked up only three wickets so far in five matches. Dushmantha Chameera played only one match and went wicketless against Afghanistan.

Sri Lanka's probable playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (c & wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Matthews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushmantha Chameera

Topics mentioned in this article

Sri Lanka Cricket Team India Cricket Team Kusal Mendis Kusal Perera Dimuth Karunaratne Pathum Nissanka Angelo Mathews World Cup 2023 Cricket India vs Sri Lanka, Match 33