A player escort fell unconscious at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune during the Sri Lankan national anthem and had to be helped off the field before the start of play in the 30th game of the ongoing World Cup between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The incident happened while players from both teams had queued up for their respective national anthems.
The kid was standing in front of the Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis, lined up in a queue of his own. Mendis held him in his arms and prevented him from falling to the ground. A member of the Afghanistan support staff rushed to check on him and took him away for medical attention.
Watch the video:
Meanwhile, both the Lankan Lions and Afghanistan are taking on each other in a contest that means a lot to both of them. A win in Pune will help them to advance further on the points table and keep their hopes alive of making it to the semi-finals of the marquee tournament.
While Sri Lanka occupy the fifth position on the points table with four points and a net run rate of -0.205, Afghanistan, on the other hand, are seventh on the ladder with the same number of points and a net run rate measuring -0.969. The 1996 world champions are a bit thin on strength after losing players like Dasun Shanaka, Matheesha Pathirana, and Lahiru Kumara among others to injuries.
Afghanistan's playing XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Bench:
Noor Ahmad, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Rahman, Najibullah Zadran
Sri Lanka's playing XI:
Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (c & wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka
Bench:
Chamika Karunaratne, Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Kusal Perera
