West Indies vs Sri Lanka – 1st T20 International Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is West Indies vs Sri Lanka taking place? Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021 – 22:00 (UK)
Where is West Indies vs Sri Lanka taking place? Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
What is the expected weather for West Indies vs Sri Lanka? 28c with sunshine forecast
What channel is West Indies vs Sri Lanka on? The match will be televised live on BT Sport 2
Where can I stream West Indies vs Sri Lanka? The match can be streamed live the BT Sport app and website
LAST MEETING
West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets
THE TEAM NEWS
WEST INDIES
- West Indies play their first T20 matches of 2021 and their preparations begin in earnest here ahead of the World Cup later this year as they look to improve on a series of mixed results in 2020 where they won three of their eight matches in this format of the game.
- They have reverted to a couple of old faces for this series as they have recalled T20 star Chris Gayle at the age of 41 along with Fidel Edwards who is only a couple of years his junior so they are focusing on the short term now.
- They have a solid mix of experience in the ranks in Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Jason Holder and Lendl Simmons along with some exciting young talent such as Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen, Obed McCoy and Kevin Sinclair so it will be interesting to see how they fare against Sri Lanka.
SRI LANKA
- It is almost a year since Sri Lanka played any T20 matches and that was against the Windies in Pallekele and they lost that series 2-0 so they will be hoping to perform much better in Antigua in these three games.
- Their preparations for this series have been impacted somewhat by the expected delay in new captain Dasun Shanaka arriving in the Caribbean as he has visa issues and will likely have to quarantine on arrival so they will likely be weakened for this opening game at least.
- Veteran Angelo Mathews is tipped to stand in for him in this opening game but otherwise they have a strong squad at their disposal with big-hitting all-rounder Thisara Perera a key figure while they possess some good pace bowlers in Dushmantha Chameera, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep.
THE PREDICTION
This three-match T20 series between the West Indies and Sri Lanka kicks off in Antigua with a clear sign that both teams are starting to concentrate on preparations for the T20 World Cup. The Windies have surprised many by bringing back Gayle and Edwards especially and the veteran duo will both have a point to prove. They look to have plenty of firepower in their ranks and will bat incredibly deep which gives them the protection that even if one or two fail to fire, they have plenty more to come. Sri Lanka are somewhat underrated in this format but they do have matchwinners in their camp. Their preparations have not been ideal however and with an adjustment to conditions likely to take a little time, the Windies have to be favoured to open with a victory.
