West Indies vs Sri Lanka – 1st Test Match Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is West Indies vs Sri Lanka taking place? Sunday, March 21st, 2021 – 14:00 (UK)
Where is West Indies vs Sri Lanka taking place? Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua
What is the expected weather for West Indies vs Sri Lanka? 28c with sunshine and cloudy intervals forecast over the five days
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
Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 4 wickets
THE TEAM NEWS
WEST INDIES
- West Indies come into the Test series having won both the T20 and ODI series so far and confidence is high in this format after they unexpectedly beat Bangladesh in Chattogram and Dhaka thanks to some inspired play in February.
- They have recently appointed Kraigg Brathwaite as their new captain in this format as he succeeds Jason Holder and they will hope this new-look Test team can follow up that Bangladesh success with another strong performance here.
- Darren Bravo is expected to come back into the side at number three to add a touch more experience to the batting but they will have high hopes that the likes of Kyle Mayer can find even more success on home turf while spinner Jomel Warrican will likely drop out.
SRI LANKA
- Sri Lanka have struggled in the longest format of the game since the pandemic having lost all four of their matches against South Africa and England so they will need to raise their game against the Windies here.
- After fielding as many as three spinners in some games especially on home turf, they will revert to three pacemen here as they anticipate a track designed for the hosts’ fast bowlers so they will hope Dushmantha Chameera especially can transfer his good ODI form into the Test arena.
- Captain Dimuth Karunaratne is under pressure to perform and lead from the front in this series and the batting overall is going to have to stand up to the barrage expected from the Windies attack.
THE PREDICTION
The West Indies surprised many by their 2-0 win in Bangladesh recently and there is plenty of optimism that this could be a new dawn for the team in Test match action. They have struggled badly in recent years and that has largely been down to their batting being underwhelming but the likes of Brathwaite, Mayer and Blackwood are giving them cause for optimism. This will be another challenge for them as there is expectation on them for the first time in a while and they are favourites to win the series. They face a Sri Lankan side that has struggled of late but they have shown a knack themselves for pulling off a shock and grinding it out in the last couple of years when everything is against them. They have found it difficult since the pandemic and the bio-secure bubbles have come in however and there is little optimism that it will change here. This series could be similar to the recent one against South Africa that favoured the pace men and they failed dismally in that one losing by an innings and 45 runs in one and ten wickets in the other. They could face a similar beating here unless they can somehow reverse their recent dismal form and the Windies pace attack should be the decisive factor in bowling them to victory here.
