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Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are facing off in the 31st match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 tournament on October 30 in Pune. Both teams had won two and lost four games in the six they had played so far.
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and elected to bowl first. Dushmantha Chameera and Dimuth Karunaratne came into the Sri Lankan side for Lahiru Kumara and Kusal Perera, while Noor Ahmad made way for Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid Khan appeared in his 100th ODI for Afghanistan.
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During the national anthems of both sides, the teams were accompanied onto the field by kids who acted as mascots. As the national anthems went on in the heat, one of the kids, standing in front of Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis, fainted. Mendis prevented the child from falling to the ground and a member of the Afghanistan team support staff came and carried the kid away.
In the second over of the match, Afghanistan's wicketkeeper-batter Ikram Alikhil suffered a finger injury. He attempted to field a throw from Rahmat Shah at the striker's end, but couldn't collect the ball cleanly, injuring his finger in the process. Alikhil retired to the pavilion due to the injury, and opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz took over the wicketkeeping duties.
Afghanistan have been in control of the game after skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and chose to bowl first. Noor Ahmad made way for Fazalhaq Farooqi, while Sri Lanka have made two changes, bringing in Dimuth Karunaratne for Kusal Perera, and the injured Lahiru Kumara will be replaced by Dushmantha Chameera in the playing XI.
They have restricted the Sri Lankans to 168/5 in 37 overs, with the bowling unit bagging crucial wickets at regular intervals. For Sri Lanka, the highest run-getter is Pathum Nissanka, who missed out on a fifth consecutive half-century be three runs after Azmatullah Omarzai got his wicket.
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