After being hurt by the elimination in the group stage of the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy, West Indies will take on Sri Lanka in the first match of the Celkon Mobile Cup Tri-series 2013. The match will be played at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica on Friday.
Overview:
Both teams will come into contest after an inconsistent performance in the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy in England and they lost to India by eight wickets each. It is over two years since they played against each other. They didn't get the chance to meet in the Champions trophy too as they were placed in different group. However, West Indies defeated Sri Lanka by 17 runs in the warm-up game.
West Indies lost out the semi-final berth in the Champions Trophy to South Africa on net run rate difference. They won one match, lost one and tied one. On the other hand, Sri Lanka entered the semi-final after winning two of the three games.
Previous Meetings:
West Indies have 26-20 win-loss record against Sri Lanka in their 49 meetings which include three no results. Sri Lanka won their last ODI series 2010/11 at home with 2-0 margin, wherein rain washed out one match. However, West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 17 runs in the warm-up match ahead of the Champions Trophy 2013.
Team News:
West Indies: They have retained the squad that played in the Champions Trophy except for the axing of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Jason Holder (bowler) for the Jamaican leg (first three matches) following their poor form. They have Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Johnson Charles, Darren Sammy and Darren Bravo in the batting line-up.
On the bowling front, they have Sunil Narine, Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Bravo and Darren Sammy.
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, who sustained a calf injury during the Champions Trophy semi-final match against India, has been replaced by experienced batsman Upul Tharanga. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene need to shoulder the responsibility of leading the team from the front, letting other batsmen like Lahiru Thirimanne, Tharanga and Kushal Janith Perera play their natural game.
On the bowling front, Ajantha Mendis has replaced Thisara Perera. They have Lasith Malinga, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara and Angelo Mathews in the bowling attack.
Prediction:
Sri Lanka may have made it to the knockout stage of the Champions Trophy but West Indies will come into the contest as the favourite to win as they have home ground advantage besides strong batting line-up.
Squads:
West Indies: Dwayne Bravo (c), Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Devon Smith, Darren Sammy, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Sunil Narine, Tino Best, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach
Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (captain), Dinesh Chandimal (vice-captain), Kusal Perera, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeevan Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake and Ajantha Mendis.
Where to Watch Live:
The match will start at 08:00 PM IST on Friday (28 June) and it will be broadcast live in India on Ten Sports, Ten Cricket and Ten HD.
