It’s been 12 years but the memories of MS Dhoni wielding his stick for a straight six to script a memorable World Cup win in April 2011 final against Sri Lanka will hardly fade away from an Indian cricket fan’s mind. Come Thursday, a rampaging India will look to retain their unbeaten run in the ongoing ICC World Cup when they take on the Islanders at the same Wankhede Stadium here.

“Given the current form only India can beat India,” quipped a former international cricketer. According to the former cricketer, going by current form, the other teams can only expect India to  commit a mistake or become complacent and that is the only way the hosts can be defeated in this tournament.

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India will head into the game as the hot favorites, having triumphed in all six of their matches. In their last game against England, they set a challenging target of 229 runs, losing only 9 wickets. The Indian bowlers showcased exceptional skill, limiting England to a mere 129 runs and securing a convincing 100-run victory.

As far as recent head to head records are concerned, the Rohit Sharma-led outfit has been dominant over the Islanders, with their most recent clash in the Asia Cup final resulting in a resounding 10-wicket victory for India, highlighting their dominance.

On the other hand, still licking the wounds after the humiliation at the hands of Afghanistan, the Sri Lankan team is battling for survival in this tournament, and have managed to win only a couple of games so far. They will head into the game with nothing to lose unlike India, who will have huge exceptions.

Having said that, Rohit Sharma & Co cannot afford to let their guards down as underestimating the Lankans could be very risky. The Islanders have all the ammunition to roar back in style.

With four points from six outings, Sri Lanka are on the same boat as Pakistan and Netherlands. The situation is dire, but they aren’t completely out of it yet. Mathematically, it’s still possible that two teams finish on 12 or more points, and as many as seven teams end up on eight, fighting for two spots.

That means Sri Lanka, who can still finish on 10 points, are in the mix, as are Pakistan and Netherlands.

However, given how poorly they’ve played so far, and that two of their three remaining games are against India and New Zealand, the chances of them progressing are extremely slim.

Pandya to miss games against SL & SA

Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is set to miss two more matches at the World Cup, against Sri Lanka and South Africa, as he continues to recover from an ankle injury he suffered against Bangladesh. Pandya has not played a match since October 19.

He had injured himself while bowling against Bangladesh in Pune, when he appeared to twist his ankle while trying to stop a shot with his right foot during his follow through. He played no further part in that match, and was taken for scans. The injury ruled Pandya out of India’s next matches, against New Zealand in Dharamsala, and England in Lucknow.