The first part of the Sri Lanka tour of the West Indies concludes on Sunday evening when the two sides meet in the third and final T20 match, one which will decide the series ahead of the ODIs and Tests which come later in the month.
Sri Lanka played an excellent game of cricket in the previous match to square the series and force this decider, one which will act as the perfect preparation for both teams as they continue to fine tune ahead of the World T20 later in the year.
West Indies
Having almost come unstuck with a gung ho approach which bordered on reckless in the first game of the series, West Indies were nothing like as expansive with the bat in the second game and fell to a heavy defeat so it will be interesting to see what they have in store for us in this series finale. Clearly they need to bounce back particularly with the bat but you would think in a match of such magnitude that someone will want to step up and be counted.
The huge positive for West Indies going into this deciding match is that their bowling has been spot on in both matches. Sri Lanka showed signs of getting away from them in the first half of the innings in the second game but the boys from the Caribbean reeled it back nicely, although as it turned out that was all in vein. If the Windies batsmen can deliver the goods though then their side are going to have every chance in this decider.
Sri Lanka
I think natural improvement was to be expected from the Sri Lankans from the first game to the second but the level of which we got from them was a pleasant surprise. Arriving on the islands fairly late and with very little preparation time they were always going to be up against it in that opening match so their performance can be excused. They were much more at it both in their intensity and in their execution of their plans.
Sri Lanka are in a similar position to West Indies here. They know that if their batsmen can get them up to a score which is par or slightly above it they will have every chance of coming from behind and going on to win the series. That is because their spin bowlers in particular appear to be all over the home batsmen and with this being the third match on the square in just five days you would think we will get a tiring wicket here.
Special Offer
Opt in and place 5 accumulators either in a Boylesports shop or online and get an acca free! Click the image below to bet. ALL CUSTOMERS! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Team News
Andre Fletcher, Akeal Hosein and Rovman Powell haven’t been used in the series by West Indies yet so it will be interesting to see if they freshen up for this decider. Chris Gayle and Kevin Sinclair could be among those who may sit out should they choose to change things.
Sri Lanka have a number of players who are yet to taste action in the series but they might have to wait until the ODIs because it is unlikely Mickey Arthur will want to tinker too much with a side which won so convincingly last time out.
Betting
Recent history would tell us these are two of the least reliable sides to bet on in world cricket at the minute so picking the winner of this deciding match is no easy task. My gut feeling before the series started was that Sri Lanka and their spinners would hold the key and that is still how I see it. If I was forced to back someone I’d back Sri Lanka for that reason but at the same time I’m in no rush to take on the power that West Indies possess with the bat.
That leads me to the side markets for a bet on the decider and that comes in the form of the player performance of Wanindu Hasaranga. The Sri Lankan leggie has been all over West Indies in this series, picking up three wickets in both the innings so far. He has also made double figures with the bat in both games and shown his all-round verdatily. This is a player who averages over 40 in First-class cricket with the bat after all and over 20 in both white ball formats. He has a performance line of 31.5 here. He probably bats too low to cover this total with the bat, but he is picking up wickets like they are going out of fashion and two more would cover it here. A wicket and 12 runs is also possible and then there is the catching option too. I like the over here.
Tips
WON – Back W.Hasaranga’s Performance – Over 31.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betway
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
