Sri Lanka will take on West Indies in the final ODI of the series to look for a pride victory, back of the series loss. Visitors will look for the first point in CWC Super League.
Match Timings: Mar 14, 7 PM IST
Team Preview
West Indies continued their dominance at home and after winning the T20I series, they have also sealed the ODI series win after winning the first two ODIs with ease. Sri Lanka batted very well and posted an imposing total of 273, courtesy of Danushka Gunathilaka’s 96. Dinesh Chandimal contributed with 71 and Hasanranga delivered a blistering finish with 31-balls 47. It was a fine total on the surface of Antigua but West Indies constructed the innings very well and Sri Lankan spinners didn’t trouble much. Sri Lanka lost the match when the opening partnership added 192 runs in 37.2. Sri Lanka fought hard with three quick wickets but it was a delayed effort. When Fabien Allen got out, Windies required 25 off 16 balls, followed by nine runs off the final over. Pooran held the nerve and finished the chase with two balls spare.
Everything is going wrong for Sri Lanka since the COVID outbreak. They won just one international match during this period which came in the second T20I against West Indies. They haven’t picked up any point in CWC Super League. The current form shows they might play a qualifier for the World Cup 2023. Danushka Gunathilaka has been consistent for Sri Lanka in the last couple of years but they have so many issues in batting. Chandimal showed good intent in the last game. The pace-attack didn’t provide any breakthrough in the start and spinners couldn’t get the support from another end. In both games, Sri Lanka could have improved their mistakes and the series might stand at 1-1 but the picture is different now.
Meanwhile, the hosts are highly boosted after back-to-back series wins. They lost to Bangladesh with a weak team but grabbed vital 20 points for Super League. West Indies have solid match-winners. The openers have been outstanding. Lewis provides the acceleration and Shai Hope constructs the innings. After smashing a hundred in the opening ODI, Hope scored 84 in the second match. Lewis scored a fine hundred in the last match. When the match was slipping from their hand, Pooran rescued with a fine cameo. West Indies have a compact side and they will look forward to whitewashing the Lankan side.
Pitch Report
Antigua’s surface is an ideal track for ODIs. It offers good assistance to batting. The track gets slower later the match progresses. It’s a track of 250-270 and chasing would be tricky here.
Possible XI
West Indies
Shai Hope (wk), Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Darren Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein
Sri Lanka
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Angelo Mathews, Ashen Bandara, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep
Key Players
West Indies
Shai Hope
This series – 110, 84
Last 7 matches – Runs: 463, Avg: 66.14
Alzarri Joesph
Last 10 matches – Wickets: 19, SR: 30.95
Sri Lanka
Danushka Gunathilaka
Last 4 matches – Runs: 298, Avg: 74.50
Karunaratne
Last 7 matches – Runs: 211, Avg: 30.14
