Former champions Team India and Sri Lanka are battling out with each other in their ODI World Cup clash at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on November 2, Thursday. Kusal Mendis won the toss and invited Rohit Sharma's brigade to bat first at the iconic venue where India and Sri Lanka played the 2011 ODI World Cup final. But Wankhede Stadium bore witness to a moment of sheer disbelief when Rohit stepped onto the pitch, only to return back to pavilion without opening his run account.
Rohit made his intentions clear with a boundary on the opening delivery. The vibrant Mumbai crowd had every reason to believe that their local hero was poised to deliver another big knock. However, the very next delivery turned the tables dramatically. Sri Lanka's strike pacer Dilshan Madushanka, with his impeccable skill, managed to deliver a ball that took everyone, especially Rohit by surprise. Crafting a pitch-perfect delivery that slightly deviated with an angle, Madushanka had Rohit anticipating an inswinger. Misreading the trajectory, the Indian skipper played down the wrong line, resulting in the ball elegantly bypassing the bat and castling Rohit's off-stump.
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The atmosphere at the Wankhede Stadium took a sudden shift. The excited roars of the audience were replaced with gasps of astonishment, mirroring the expressions of Rohit Sharma's wife, Ritika, who was visibly taken aback by the unexpected dismissal. The Indian talisman's exit after scoring just four runs off two balls delivered a significant setback to the team early in the game.
The responsibility now rests on the seasoned shoulders of Virat Kohli and the young dynamo, Shubman Gill. The duo combined to steady India's boat as they took the scoreboard to 113/1 after 17.4 over with Kohli (52) and Gill (48) still intact on the crease.
India playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
Sri Lanka playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(w/c), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka.
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