Twelve years on from that dream April 2011 night when a country of billions landed in a frenzy of delight, India take on Sri Lanka in another World Cup clash here on Thursday, albeit one that is poles apart from being termed an encore.
If that World Cup final was truly a battle of titans in every sense, the impending contest is more or less a battle of the unequals. India have hitherto marched on immaculately in pursuit of a third title and Sri Lanka have lost more than what they have won.
Unbeaten in six straight games and largely unchallenged for longer spans, India have displayed traits of being a champion side which has the knack of staging remarkable fightbacks.
India's confidence is irrefutably high but greater is their self-belief and trust on skills witnessed in the mini-storm created by Australia in Chennai when reduced to 2/3 or when England limited them to a modest 229/9 in Lucknow.
The doggedness to keep striking England until the defending champions were disintegrated was not only another display of their potential, but also a sign that India's opponents must raise the performance bar significantly higher when it comes to facing Rohit Sharma's team in this World Cup.
Live Streaming & Broadcast Details:
When to watch the India vs Sri Lanka World Cup 2023 fixture?
The clash between India and Sri Lanka will take place on Thursday (November 2) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Where and what time to watch IND vs SL online and TV?
Cricket fans can live stream the match online on Disney+ Hotstar. The match will be telecast on the Star Sports network for television viewers. The toss will take place at 1.30 pm IST and the match will start at 2 pm IST.
Predicted XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (C), Pathum Nissanka, Kasun Rajitha, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, D Madushanka, Angelo Mathews, Dushmantha Chameera.
