Men's ODI WC: Sri Lanka win toss, opt to field first against India

Mumbai: Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in a crucial league match of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 at the Wankhede stadium here on Thursday.

Mendis said they think batting second will be better on this pitch. "The players have done well in a couple of matches and are giving their best. Very important three games for us" said Mendis at the toss.

Sri Lanka have made one change in the team that lost to Afghanistan in Pune a couple of days back, bringing in Dushan Hemantha in place of Dhananjaya de Silva.

India captain Rohit Sharma said he would have batted first if he had won the toss.

He said it was a good pitch and gave some assistance to the bowlers at the start. "Under lights, it will be nice for our seamers to bowl. Great honour to captain India at the World Cup where I've grown up playing. As a team, we thrive on getting better however way we can. Obviously, important for us to not get carried away and it's important to stay balanced. We're playing the same team," Rohit said after the toss.

Playing XI:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (c, wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka.