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[Saba Sports News] A player escort fainted during Sri Lanka’s national anthem just before their 2023 World Cup match against Afghanistan in Pune. The child was standing in front of Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis, who acted swiftly to prevent the kid from falling to the ground.
Mendis received assistance from a member of the Afghanistan cricket team’s support staff, who rushed to check on the child and took them for medical attention. A video of this incident quickly went viral, and fans on social media commended Mendis for his quick response. Pune’s daytime temperature was around 30-32 degrees Celsius, which, while not extremely hot, can still be challenging.
Before the national anthems, Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bowl. Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi explained, “We want to bowl first because there will be dew later on. We are comfortable and playing good cricket. Right now, we are focused on playing good cricket. Due to the conditions, we rested Noor today, and Fazalhaq replaces him.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s captain Mendis stated, “I wanted to bat first, set a good score, and defend it. In the last three matches, we have performed well in batting, bowling, and fielding, and we want to continue that. Chimera is playing, and hopefully, he will perform well. [Kusal] Perera is not playing, and Karunaratne is in his place. He performed well in the qualifier matches, and I have confidence in him.”
Sri Lanka had a solid start with their top-order batsmen, with opener Pathum Nissanka scoring 46 off 60 balls, including five fours. However, Dimuth Karunaratne, the opening partner, was dismissed for 15 off 21 balls.
Leading from the front, Mendis contributed 39 runs off 50 balls. Other important contributions came from Sadeera Samarawickrama (36), Charith Asalanka (22), Angelo Mathews (23), and Maheesh Theekshana (29), taking Sri Lanka to a total of 241. In Afghanistan’s bowling department, Fazalhaq Farooqi took four wickets, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman claimed two dismissals. Azmatullah Omarzai and Rashid Khan each secured a wicket.