Sri Lanka and West Indies lock horns in the first Twenty20 International (T20I) on Monday at Pallekele. Sri Lanka registered a fine victory in the Test and the One-Day International (ODI) as they whitewashed the viiors inboth the formats. Their last encounter too was dominated by Sri Lanka after the rains played spoilsport. Kusal Perera continued his good form and scored a tenacious half-century, whereas other chipped in with substantial contributions. Angelo Mathews remained unbeaten on 27 as Sri Lanka won the game by 19 runs according to D/L method. Earlier in the day, the West Indies after witnessing an early slide somehow posted 206 in their 36 overs, which wasn’t sufficient enough to contain the hosts. But it’s a whole new format and fresh series, West Indies will look to turn the tide in their favour and achieve some glory in the tour. LIVE SCORECARD: Sri Lanka vs West Indies, 1st T20 at Pallekele
The visitors have their bases covered and on paper they wear a formidable look but what maters is performance on the ground. They have plenty of match-winners in the form of Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine. A win over here will give them immense confidence and the momentum to win the series too. For Sri Lanka, they will look to continue what they’ve been doing the best so far. The inclusion of Thisara Perera have further provided them stability in the line-up. Their skipper Lasith Malinga has too rediscovered his mojo and will be crucial in the game of uncertainties such as T20. Both the swords are equally sharpened and the clash will definitely be a nail-biting one.
Squads:
Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (c), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera (wk), Shehan Jayasuriya, Angelo Mathews, Milinda Siriwardana, Chamara Kapugedera, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Kithuruwan Vithanage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Sachithra Senanayake, Jeffrey Vandersay, Binura Fernando, Thisara Perera.
West Indies: Darren Sammy (c), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Dinesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor.