Sri Lanka will be locking horns with West Indies in the first T20 of the two-match series at The Pallekele Stadium on 9 November, Monday.
Having won the Test and the ODI series, Sri Lanka will be looking to pile on further miseries on the hapless West Indies during the T20 series.
The West Indies squad looks more stronger on papers but not to forget, Sri Lanka are the World T20 champions. Although the confidence of the Caribbeans will be boosted with the presence of skipper Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard.
"The last international T20 we played was back in January, in South Africa. After that we've played a few tournaments. Some of our guys are playing all over the world. We've put in some practice yesterday and today. Hopefully the rest of the squad that has been here should be acclimatised to the conditions. We're looking to bring our experience and play a format that we enjoy," Sammy told reporters ahead of the first T20 encounter on Monday.
Sri Lanka will be wary of the fact that West Indies will be showcasing five specialist all-rounders in the form of Sammy, Bravo, Pollard, Jason Holder and Andre Russell in the first T20 game at Pallekele. All of these above mentioned names have the capability of finishing the game almost single-handedly.
However, Sri Lanka too have a good attacking side to counter the visitors. Kusal Perera and Tillakaratne Dilshan has been in good form at the top of the batting order. Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Dinesh Chandimal and Chamara Kapugedara will solidify the middle order. Most of these batsmen can send the ball into the orbit.
Sri Lanka will be looking to exploit most of their home conditions. The Pallekele wicket for the first T20 game is likely to produce a lot of runs and it is the same wicket that was used for the third ODI.
Rain has played spoiltsport throughout the Test and ODI series and is likely to play a role on Monday during the first T20 match as well. In that case, both the sides will have to deal with the slowness of the pitch towards the latter half of the game.
Sri Lanka need to win at least one game to retain their top spot in the ICC World T20 ranking. If West Indies win this T20 series 2-0, then they will remove Sri Lanka from the no.1 position and occupy their place.
Expected lineups:
Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Dinesh Chandimal , Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedara, Milinda Siriwardana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Binura Fernando, Lasith Malinga (C), Dushmantha Chameera.
West Indies: Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher (wk), Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy (C), Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul.
Where to watch live
The Sri Lanka vs West Indies 1st T20 has been scheduled for 7 pm local time (7 pm IST, 2:30 pm BST, 9:30 am West Indian Time ) start with live TV coverage in India and Sri Lanka on Ten Cricket. The live streaming option is not available in India.
Viewers in the UK can watch the Sri Lanka vs West Indies 1st T20 live on British Eurosport 2 with live streaming on Eurosport Player.
US audience can watch the Sri Lanka vs West Indies 1st T20 live on Willow Tv, live streaming on Willow TV Online.
