Sri Lanka will lock horns with West Indies in the first T20 of the two-match series at Pallekele on 9 November on Monday.
Sri Lanka completed a series sweep by defeating West Indies in the third and final ODI of the series at Pallekele on Saturday. This has been an awful tour for the Caribbeans, as they had lost the Test series as well.
The hosts have the momentum with them, and will look to pile on the misery on the hapless West Indies team.
West Indies will be somewhat pumped by the addition of Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard in their T20 squad. This will automatically add a lot of firepower in the team. Andre Russell and Jason Holder will also rub their shoulders with the trio.
Needless to say, West Indies will be showcasing five all-rounders during the first T20 game, and every single one of the above-mentioned players can win games almost single-handedly.
Sunil Narine and Devendra Bishoo will take care of the spin department for the visitors. Samuel Badree has pulled out of the remainder of the series due to illness, something Sammy would not have wanted. Jerome Taylor will bowl the seam-ups along with Bravo and Russell.
The World T20 champions on the other hand have a decent squad as well. Kusal Perera has been in sublime touch, as was evident throughout the ODI series. Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera will add a lot of firewpower to their batting order.
It will be interesting to see Lasith Malinga's approach towards the destructive West Indian batting lineup. Being the skipper of the format, he will be under a little bit of pressure, but his side has done well against West Indies so far.
West Indies might look a little more threatening on paper, but it will not be easy for the visitors to outplay the Lankan Lions on their home soil. They have played in Pallekele once, and the hosts got the better of them. One can expect yet another cliff-hanger when these two sides clash in the first T20 of the two-match series.
Squads:
Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (C), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Angelo Mathews, Milinda Siriwardana, Chamara Kapugedera, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Kithuruwan Vithanage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Sachithra Senanayake, Jeffrey Vandersay, Binura Fernando, Thisara Perera
West Indies: Darren Sammy (C), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor.
Sri Lanka vs West Indies 1st T20 schedule:
1st T20:
Date: 9 November.
Venue: Pallekele Stadium.
Time: 7 pm IST (7 pm local time, 9:30 am West Indian time, 1:30 pm GMT).
TV Listings: India: Ten Cricket. Sri Lanka: Ten Cricket. UK: Sky Sports. USA: Willow TV.
