Sri Lanka vs West Indies Preview: Sri Lanka chase third win against Windies

Lasith Malinga starred for Sri Lanka over England, can he do it again?

Mathematically still alive in the race for the semi-finals, Sri Lanka will aim to give their best shot against West Indies, who have just pride to play for in their World Cup encounter on Monday.

Sri Lanka’s 20 run win over England had breathed life into their inconsistent campaign but a painful defeat against South Africa in the very next game, hurt their semi-final chances.

The 1996 champions, who are placed seventh on the points table with six points from seven matches, need to win their final two matches, and hope for favourable outcomes in England and Pakistan’s next fixtures.

In their nine-wicket loss to South Africa, their inconsistent batting came to the fore yet again and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne would look to improve on that aspect against a challenging West Indian bowling attack.

With their batting unit misfiring more often than not, the onus to sexure favourable results has always been put on the experienced bowling attack, led by the veteran speedster Lasith Malinga. And with Nuwan Pradeep’s exit (due to chickenpox), Sri Lanka will rely heavily on their bowling spearhead once again.

The Jason Holder-led side, on the other hand, will look to finish on a high after being knocked out of the tournament.

West Indies came into the tournament, tipped as potential surprise packet, especially after scoring 421 in a warm-up victory against New Zealand. They also started their World Cup campaign with a bang, demolishing Pakistan by seven wickets.

But since then, things have gone from bad to worse for the Caribbeans. They have suffered fixe defeats Though they have been impressive in parts, the side has failed to hold on to their nerves in tight games and ended up enduring heartbreaking losses.

They currently occup the penultimate spot just above Afghanistan on the points table, having crashed out of the semi-final race. But with nothing to lose, the West Indies will be playing for pride and could be unstoppable if their destructive batting line up, comprising big hitters like Chris Gayle, Carlos Brathwaite and Shai Hope, clicks.

The Riverside Ground produced a sluggish surface in Sri Lanka’s nine-wicket loss to South Africa. Durham is expected to have clear skies on Monday with little to no chance of rain.

WATCH OUT FOR - Dimuth Karunaratne

Dimuth Karunaratne will be looking for a big score against the West Indies.

The Sri Lankan skipper has failed to have a big impact in terms of the outcome of matches so far in this tournament, and with their campaign on the line, he will be looking to follow the lead of the captains up the top of the table and lead from the front. Expect a big score from Dimuth.

PREDICTION More than likely, Sri Lanka’s campaign is over, but mathetmatically, and with a win against India, they may just be in contention. But without defeating the West Indies tonight it’s all over. That should be enough to fire up the Sri Lankan’s, especially coming off their strong performance against England.

Sri Lanka to win by 30-40 runs / 3-4 wickets.

STATISTICS

HEAD TO HEAD ODI Matches: 56 Sri Lanka: 25

West Indies: 28

N/R: 3

HEAD TO HEAD IN WORLD CUPS Matches: 6

Sri Lanka: 2

West Indies: 4

WORLD CUP RECORDS

Sri Lanka

Matches: 78

Won: 36

Lost: 38

Tie: 1

Best Result - Winners (1996)

West Indies

Matches: 76

Won: 42

Lost: 33

Best Result- Winners (1975, 1979)

ODI Record since World Cup 2015:

Sri Lanka

Matches: 90

Won: 25

Lost: 56

West Indies

Matches: 72

Won: 20

Lost: 47