At this point, Sri Lanka’s best hope is to bat well rust and give their mattresses a chance.
Big picture
How do you plan for the West Indies? Their archers are different and skilled – Coolidge’s first T20 featuring quicks like Dwayne Bravo, Jason Holder and Obed McCoy – who were able to bowl a number of slower balls that took advantage of a slow surface to load -surned Sri Lankan bat.
At the same time, their bats can do nothing. Even a hat-trick to Akila Dananjaya would not significantly run a chase on the West Indies as they have six-stroke batsmen down to No. 8. Within a course over, Kieron Pollard turned a difficult situation for the team his to be what he became a chakewalk, with six sixes in excess. What will you do against that kind of power? If you have as many matchwinners in the side as they do – Andre Russell isn’t even part of their equation for this series, anyway – this is a side that is as vague as challenging analysis with any team around.
Sri Lanka’s best hope is to bat well. It is possible that there is no score beyond the capacity of this West Indies team, but if Sri Lanka can shoot together with the bat, they will give their bowlers a chance. On Wednesday, none of their top seven bats had strike rates of even 120, which is a problem. As a result, the West Indies could take great risks along that route, and those risks paid off.
Form instructions
(completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka:: LLLLL
England: WLLWW
Battle to watch
West Indies power warriors against Sri Lankan spinners. After the first game, Pollard suggested his six devastating blows against Dananjaya were part of his team’s plan. Here’s the reasoning: West Indian bats can hit six like no other. And they especially like to beat six away from a spinning bowl. On Wednesday, Dananjaya was the top whip boy, with eight of the 13 sixes for the West Indies coming off his bowling. But Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers seem to want to come back at the guests. In their ranks, they can at least count on Wanindu Hasaranga, who is a threat for a wicket as well as a more stable bat when they need it.
Park and conditions
Coolidge’s pitch for the first game was on the fans ’side, so maybe this could be the theme of this T20I series. There is no rain forecast.
Team news
Despite the fact, Sri Lanka may have chosen the same lineup.
Sri Lanka (able): 1 Niroshan Dickwella 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Pathum Nissanka, 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Ashen Bandara, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Nuwan Pradeep
The West Indies have no reason to change their XI.
West Indies (able): 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Kieron Pollard (capt), 6 Jason Holder, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Fabian Allen, 9 Kevin Sinclair, 10 Obed McCoy, 11 Fidel Edwards
Stats and trivia
- Sri Lanka have not won a T20I since October 2019. They have lost eight T20Is on the trot since then.
- Kieron Pollard hit 36 off his 38 runs through six in the final game – a staggering 95% run.
- Overall, the West Indies hit 13 sixes to six of them on Wednesday.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a Sri Lankan journalist at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf