ODI World Cup digest: Pakistan's record chase; Malan mauls Bangladesh

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Sri Lanka were served a harsh lesson in the realities of modern ODI cricket, as Pakistan hunted down a target of 345 - the highest-ever chase in a World Cup - with six wickets to spare. Leading their charge were tons from Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan, which trumped a pair of centuries by Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, to make it two wins from two for Pakistan.

Rizwan, who suffered from at times seemingly debilitating cramps - the physio came and looked at him twice - for the last 15 overs or so of the chase, remained unbeaten in the end on a 121-ball 131. Together with Shafique - who himself recorded the highest score by a Pakistan debutant at a World Cup with his 113 off 103 - he had put together a third-wicket stand worth 176 off just 156 deliveries.

Around the time Mohammad Rizwan was approaching his century, shortly after limping and cramping in excruciating pain, the DJ got the crowd going with the familiar 'Jeetega Bhai Jeetega' chants. They completed it with 'Pakistan jeetega'. The moment wasn't lost upon anyone. Even Babar Azam, seated on the steps of their pavilion fixated on the action, allowed himself a chuckle. It was unlike anything.

Hostility towards the Pakistan team in Hyderabad? Not a chance. Fans came in from far and wide, some drove 850km from Bhopal, to watch 'King Babar' play. On their part, the Pakistan team resonated the same love and warmth.

Defending champions England produced an emphatic response to defeat in their opening World Cup match, crushing Bangladesh by 137 runs in Dharamsala to get their tournament up and running. A total of 364 for 9 was underpinned by Dawid Malan's maiden World Cup hundred - and fourth this calendar year - before the returning Reece Topley ripped through the top order as Bangladesh faltered in the foothills of what would have been a record chase.

Asked to make the running at the picturesque HPCA Stadium, backdropped by the Himalayas, England showed an appetite for the climb. Malan and Jonny Bairstow set off at a steady canter in recording their first century stand as openers, before the former was joined by Joe Root in a clockwork-smooth partnership of 151 in 19.3 overs to give England a formidable platform going into the latter stages - at which point they stumbled against Bangladesh's death-bowling smarts, Shoriful Islam and Mahedi Hasan claiming regular wickets.

In his first press conference at this World Cup, Hashmatullah Shahidi spoke glowingly about the ability within his Afghanistan team. Even outside of it, the talent at their disposal is incredible. There's a 23-year-old in Kunar who, but for the great Bill Ponsford, would hold the title of the fastest cricketer to 1000 first-class runs. The thing is, though, those kinds of records can sometimes speak to the lack of quality opposition. In a nutshell, that's been Afghanistan's problem in the longer formats.

As coveted as their stars are on the T20 circuit, the chances they have to level up their one-day game are few and far between. Afghanistan have played a mere 29 matches between the last World Cup and this one. Even going as far back as the first ODI they ever played, their tally only comes to 153. There are individual players in the Indian team that they'll face on Wednesday who have played almost twice as many matches.

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer/Suryakumar Yadav, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Azmatullah Omarzai, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi