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A player escort fainted during Sri Lanka’s national anthem, moments before the 2023 World Cup match against Afghanistan was to get underway at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Monday. The child, who fainted, was standing in front of Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis, who was quick to react to the situation and grabbed hold of the kid from falling on the ground.
Mendis was then aided by a support staff member of the Afghanistan cricket team, who rushed in to check on the child and took him away for medical attention. A video of the incident has gone viral since then, and fans have taken to social media to praise Mendis, for his reaction to the situation. Pune’s temperature during the day hovering was around the 30-32 degree Celsius mark, which may not be too hot but can pose a challenge.
Below is the video:
Before the national anthems, Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bowl. After winning the toss, Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said, “We want to bowl first. The reason is it will be dew after on. We are feeling comfortable, we are playing good cricket. Right now, we are focusing on how we are going to play good cricket. According to the conditions, we gave rest to Noor today and Fazalhaq comes in his place.”
Meanwhile, opposition skipper Mendis said, “I was looking to bat first, put up a good score on the board and defend. In the last three matches, we have done well in all three parts, batting, bowling and fielding and we would like to do well again. Chimera is playing and hopefully, he will do well. [Kusal] Perera is not playing and Karunaratne comes in his place. He played well in the qualifier matches and I have confidence in him.”
Sri Lanka were off to a strong start through their top-order batters as opener Pathum Nissanka registered 46 off 60 balls, packed with five fours. His opening partner Dimuth Karunaratne failed to make an impact, getting dismissed for 15 off 21 balls.
Leading from the front, Mendis smacked 39 off 50 balls. There were crucial contributions from Sadeera Samarawickrama (36), Charith Asalanka (22), Angelo Mathews (23) and Maheesh Theekshana (29) too that took Sri Lanka to 241. From Afghanistan’s bowling department, Fazalhaq Farooqi took four wickets and Mujeeb Ur Rahman scalped two dismissals. Also, Azmatullah Omarzai and Rashid Khan bagged a dismissal each.
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