The 2012 World T20 winners, West Indies will lock horns with defending World T20 champions, Sri Lanka in a two-match series which begins on 9th November at Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium.
Both teams will be eyeing the number one ranking in the ICC T20 points table. If number-four ranked West Indies can topple the defending champions 2-0, they will claim the number one spot while at least one win for the home team will guarantee their top spot which they have been maintaining for the last 18 months.
Darren Sammy said during the pre-match press conference that they are looking to play their unique brand of cricket in the coming games, “I think we now play a format which we enjoy in a place we played it the best. And last time we had good memories playing T20 here. It’s a different format which we are pretty good at. We are looking forward to the contest.”
West Indies have had a miserable time during the Test series and ODI series against the hosts as they were whitewashed in both formats but they do have fond memories in Sri Lanka when they were crowned as World T20 champions in 2012 at R. Premadasa Stadium under Darren Sammy’s captaincy.
Rains have played spoilsport throughout the ODI series and one can expect a similar scenario in the T20 series too which makes winning the toss very crucial for either team when rain is around the corner.
West Indies has traditionally been a strong outfit in the T20 format, and will be confident of coming away with something to cheer about. The changes in personnel will likely make it a far bigger threat than it has been so far in the tour, given that recognized T20 campaigners in Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo have been included in the squad.
Sri Lankans will be fuelled by the exuberance of rookies such as tall left-arm seamer Binura Fernando, speedster Dushmantha Chameera and leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay. In-form Kusal Janith Perera, Dinesh Chandimal and hard-hitting Chamara Kapugedara will add the fire-power to the side that will be led by resurgent Lasith Malinga.
The World Cup winning skipper was confident before the start of another assignment with his team, “We have good players. We want to recognize talent and what is the right combination for the World Cup” said Malinga.
On paper, West Indies wear a more fearful look but performance on the field is what matters. They will be the favourites as they are far more dangerous in this format of the game but Sri Lanka will have the home advantage together with their fine combination of young and experience alongside the winning momentum they gained in the last four weeks.
An electrifying series in on the cards when these two team clash, expect a run-fest and hopefully the D/L calculations will not be needed to measure out the winner.
Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Angelo Mathews, Milinda Siriwardene, Chamara Kapugedara, Dinesh Chandimal, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Sachithra Senanayake, Jeffrey Vandersay, Binura Fernando, Thisara Perera.
West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Devendra Bishoo.
