T20 World Cup | Team analysis: West Indies vs Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka will be looking to end their T20 World Cup campaign on a high when they face West Indies in match 35 of the T20 World Cup at the Sheik Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The Lankans are out of contention for the semi-finals as they have lost three ‘Super 12’ matches on the bounce. After qualifying for the ‘Super 12’ stage, Sri Lanka started well as they defeated Bangladesh in their first match. However, the team could not keep up the momentum as they lost their next three matches against Australia, South Africa and England.

Defending champions West Indies have an outside chance of qualifying for the semi-finals provided they win their next two matches comprehensively and other results of the group go in their favour. West Indies started their World Cup campaign on a disappointing note as they were defeated in their first match of the World Cup by England. West Indies faced another disappointment against South Africa before the team bounced back to win against Bangladesh.

West Indies strengths:

The team would be happy that Ravi Rampaul, Jason Holder, Andre Russell, Akeal Hosein and Dwayne Bravo picked a wicket each against Bangladesh. Nicholas Pooran, who was struggling to score runs, smashed 40 from 22 deliveries.

West Indies weaknesses:

West Indies’s top order has been inconsistent. In the first match against England, Ewin Lewis and Lendl Simmons scored 6 and 3 runs respectively. Simmons struggled against South Africa, scoring only 16 from 35 deliveries. Lewis was out on just 6 against Bangladesh. Gayle has returned with scores of 13, 12 and 4 from the last three matches.

Sri Lanka strengths:

The Sri Lankan spin duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana have been one of the highlights of the World Cup. Hasaranga has picked 14 wickets in this World Cup which has seen him climb to the top of the ICC Men’s T20 bowler rankings. Theekshana has stemmed the flow of runs and supported Hasaranaga by picking 8 wickets so far.

Sri Lanka weaknesses:

The form of pacer Lahiru Kumara has not helped Sri Lanka’s cause. The pacer has picked only 1 wicket from his last four matches and has conceded plenty of runs in that span. Kumara conceded 29 runs in 4 overs against Bangladesh, 33 runs from 3 overs against Australia, 35 runs from 3.5 overs against South Africa and 44 runs from 4 overs against England.

Head-to-head

Matches played: 14
West Indies wins: 7
Sri Lanka wins: 7

Form Guide

West Indies: W-L-L-L-W
Sri Lanka: L-L-L-W-W

Pitch and conditions

11 T20 World Cup games have been played at this venue. Seven have been won by the teams who have batted second. The pitch is expected to be on the slower side. The evening will be clear. The evening temperature will be around 27 degrees Celsius. The humidity level will be 59 per cent.

Team News

Neither team is suffering from any injury concerns.

Deccan Herald’s Dream XI

Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Kusal Perera (wk), Nicholas Pooran, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera

Impact player for West Indies

Ewin Lewis: The West Indies opener has been in great six-hitting form this year. He is the batter with the most sixes in 2021. The left-handed opener has smashed 37 maximums in 16 T20I games. If Lewis gets going early, then it would be very tough for the Sri Lankan bowlers to stop him.

Impact player for Sri Lanka

Maheesh Theekshana: The Sri Lankan spinner has been in good form this tournament. He has picked 8 wickets in this tournament. If Theekshana doesn’t pick wickets, then he ensures that he keeps his end tight by not conceding runs, as was evident against England where he conceded only 13 runs from his four overs.

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