Sri Lanka will be facing West Indies in the second ODI of the three-match series at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday.
The first ODI was rain-curtailed and the match was reduced to 26-overs-a-side, but the hosts managed to win a cliff-hanger.
Sri Lanka should have comprehensively won the first ODI after the kind of start Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kusal Perera gave. But their middle-order was exposed rather easily, courtesy a brilliant spell of spin bowling from Sunil Narine.
The Sri Lankan batsmen will also be wary of Narine in the 2nd ODI as his spell of 10 overs can prove to be crucial.
"Sunil Narine is a very good bowler. If you take bowlers in the world today, he's in the top two or three. We don't underestimate them at any point. In our practises we work hard. We look closely at how to face their spinners. We're in a good mental space after the last match," Sri Lanka wicket-keeper Dinesh Chandimal said at the press conference on Tuesday.
"The young batsmen are good enough to play in the middle order. We all know we don't have the experience we had last year, but the new batsmen learned a lot of things from the last game. I think they will come back strongly."
West Indies, on the other hand, have big hitters in their lineup who have the capability of sending the ball into the orbit. Sri Lankan bowlers will have to bowl a tight line and length in order to stop the run flow towards the latter half of the innings when the likes of Andre Russell, Jonathan Carter and others will be itching to go for those wild swings.
West Indies will be missing the services of their captain Jason Holder who has been handed a one-match ban for maintaining slow over-rate. Ravi Rampaul is likely to replace him. Andre Russell's fitness is also a concern for the visiting team. If Russell is not fit for the 2nd ODI, Jason Mohammed will be taking his place. Wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin is likely to lead the charge.
The Weather Report:
The rain can be a crucial factor during the 2nd ODI as well. The weather report suggest that there are chances of showers in patches and one can expect a delayed start and interruptions. However, the wicket is going to remain the same as the first ODI one.
Probable Teams -- Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Angelo Mathews (C), Milinda Siriwardana, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal.
West Indies: Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Jonathan Carter, Denesh Ramdin (C & wk), Andre Russell/Jason Mohammed, Carlos Brathwaite, Sunil Narine, Jerome Taylor, Ravi Rampaul.
Where to watch:
Where to watch live
The Sri Lanka vs West Indies 2nd ODI has been scheduled for 2:30pm local time (2:30pm IST, 10am BST, 4am ET ) start with live TV coverage in India on Ten Action with live streaming on tensports.com.
Viewers in the UK can watch the Sri Lanka vs West Indies 2nd ODI live on British Eurosport 2 with live streaming on Eurosport Player.
US viewers can watch the Sri Lanka vs West Indies 2nd ODI live on Willow Tv, live streaming on Willow TV Online.
