Big picture
Sri Lanka has broken their bare climb. They had lost eight T20 internationals in a row – against Australia, India and the West Indies. Eventually they seemed like a capable T20 team, and this was largely due to their spinners.
This may seem like the way Sri Lanka was going to win, but it really isn’t. Sri Lanka has not had a good offensive for several years. While on Friday, Akila Dananjaya bowled nicely during the play-off, Wanindu Hasaranga took control of the middle tails, and Lakshan Sandakan polished the tail, that has not been the case since Rangana Herath and Sachithra Senanayake join together, halfway through the last decade, that Sri Lanka has had strong slow archers. On Friday’s testimony, all three have the potential. While Hasaranga is clearly the main player among them, Dananjaya and Sandakan also have great strengths – especially the ability to bowl over difficult levels.
The West Indies will not lose much, partly because they have so much quality in their line that it is impossible to come back even in the harshest conditions. Who’s going to eliminate Evin Lewis blasting his way to a game-winning score? Or Nicholas Pooran leaving as a skyrocket? Chris Gayle, Llendl Simmons and Kieron Pollard also want to struggle, as well as the lower talents of Dwayne Bravo and Fabian Allen.
This is not a team that you can predict much about, other than to say that most of them are winners, and will destroy opponents at will. Sri Lanka was pretty much close to Friday. They have to be at that level again Sunday to take the series.
Form instructions
(completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: : WLLLL
West Indies: LWWLL
In mind
Did a lot of archers have this series Akila Dananjaya so far? He’s coming back from an international hiatus long because of what he did, to begin with. Then in the first game, he grabbed a hat-trick and then ended up being pumped for six in a row by Kieron Pollard, to finish with 3 figures for 62 from his four petals. Kudos to the team’s leaders who not only played it again in the second game, but also activated it with bowling powerplay boots, while the team engaged in spinning. In that game, he knocked off Lewis and finished with 1 or 13 from his four petals. Clearly, the West Indies are destined to go after him. On Friday’s testimony, Dananjaya will come ready.
If the West Indies are ignorant of analysis as a team, no player stays that way Chris Gayle. So far in this series, he has accumulated 0 and 16 scores, and yet, there is a sense that he could explode, and explode surprisingly. If it has a slow start, so what? But then he plays his first T20 international cricket in two years, this series, and it’s at least three years since he made a significant contribution to the West Indies in this format. It may be unbelievable that the West Indies will go to the T20 World Cup later this year without Chris Gayle, but in his move to No. 3, the West Indies have already contacted him a little. After 0 and 16 scores so far in the series, Gayle has to run.
Park and conditions
The pitch at Coolidge doesn’t seem to change much – it has been slow for the first two games, with a medium kick. The weather forecast indicates another warm but dry afternoon.
Team news
Sri Lanka are unlikely to change their successful, spin-heavy XI.
Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Pathum Nissanka. 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 5 Ashen Bandara, 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 9 Ashen Bandara, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Nuwan Pradeep
The West Indies are unlikely to make many changes either. Except, Pollard keeps moving himself up and down the order.
West Indies (able) 1 Llendl 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
- Only twice in 13 bowling innings did Wanindu Hasaranga fail to take a wicket. And in both of those inns – in Australia – it had not exceeded its full quota.
- Gayle has not surpassed 50 in T20 internationals in five years – since March 2016. Those innings, however, were 100 not out of 48 balls, against England in the ‘Latest T20 World Cup.
- Sri Lanka have not won a T20I series since October 2019, when they won 3-0 in Pakistan.
- The West Indies won their last T20I series against Sri Lanka, around this time last year.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a Sri Lankan journalist at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf