"Balanced" India the World Cup favourites, admits Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne

Following the seven-wicket defeat at Headingley, the captain of the 1996 winners is convince their sub-continent rivals will go all the way

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Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne is tipping India to win the World Cup ahead of the knock-out phase.

Virat Kohli's side warmed-up for the semi-finals with a comfortable seven-wicket win over the 1996 winners at Headingley.

Rohit Sharma struck a record-breaking fifth century of the tournament while fellow-opener KL Rahul also went to three figures.

Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets to restrict Sri Lanka to 264 for 7 and Karunaratne has seen enough to convince him that the two-time winners are the favourites.

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Having been thrashed by 10 wickets by New Zealand and seen Australia beat them by five, Sri Lanka secured a 20-run win over England in their matches against the semi-finalists.

"Every team have played really well," he admitted. "England have a good team, India, Australia they are a good side. But India have a good balanced side. 

"They have good spinners, good fast bowlers and the top of their batting keep scoring hundreds. 

"India has a better chance to win this World Cup from my point of view. If any team can beat India they are going to win it."

Our coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is brought to you in association with Cricket 19, the official video game of the Ashes. Order your copy now at Amazon.co.uk

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