Sri Lanka are set to face West Indies in a World T20 2016 Group 1 match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Sunday. Both teams come into this game with victories under their belt.
Sri Lanka defeated a brave Afghanistan team, who gave the Islanders a run for their money. Afghanistan scored a decent 153 from their allotted 20 overs, but the Sri Lanka batsmen got home thanks to Tillakaratne Dilshan, who hit a wonderful 56-ball 83 to help his team emerge victorious.
However, Sri Lanka bowlers will need to come up with a better performance against the West Indies. With West Indies possessing batsmen such as Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, the Sri Lanka bowlers have to perform, or else they might have to suffer their first defeat in the World T20.
To make things worse, Lasith Malinga has been ruled out of the World T20 due to a knee injury. Malinga might have missed the first match against Afghanistan, but he was expected to feature against the West Indies.
Sri Lanka are not top favourites to clinch the World T20 title, but defeating West Indies will help them gain immense confidence, which can help them dream of winning the title.
However, defeating West Indies will not be easy for Sri Lanka. West Indies beat England by six wickets, with Gayle playing a sensational innings of 100 runs. West Indies, as has been the case for some years now, rely on their star batsman Gayle, who is one of the most dangerous T20 players in world cricket.
If Gayle comes up with yet another brilliant innings, West Indies will defeat Sri Lanka. Besides Gayle, they have some established T20 all-rounders such as Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell, who have proved themselves in India during the IPL. These players can bring their IPL experience into play against Sri Lanka.
Gayle, who plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, will be playing in his IPL home ground of the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Though West Indies seem to have a good batting lineup, they need their bowlers to fire as well. Jerome Taylor will be their key fast bowler, but with pitches in India assisting spinners, Samuel Badree and Sulieman Benn will need to be effective.
Teams: Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (c) Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Suranga Lakmal. Rangana Herath, Shehan Jayasuriya, Chamara Kapugedara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Dasun Shanaka, Milinda Siriwardena
West Indies: Darren Sammy (c), Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Evin Lewis, Jerome Taylor.
Sri Lanka vs West Indies World T20 schedule
Date: March 20
Time: 7.30 p.m. IST (10 a.m. West Indies Time, 2 p.m. GMT, 9 a.m. ET)
Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru
TV listings: India: Star Sports 1/HD1, Star Sports 3/HD3. Indian subcontinent: Star Sports network. West Indies: ESPN. New Zealand: Sky Sports. UK: Sky Sports. US and Canada: Willow TV. Middle East and North Africa: OSN Sports Cricket HD. South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: SuperSport 2.Australia: Fox Sports 3. Hong Kong and Singapore: Star Cricket.Malaysia: Astro Cricket HD,
