West Indies still have a slim chance if they win this match but Sri Lanka will look to finish their campaign on a high

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West Indies have lost two of their three matches so far, but theoretically, they could still make the semi-finals. They need to win their game against Sri Lanka and their next against Australia to end up on six points, the same as South Africa, so long as South Africa also lose to England. West Indies’ problem, though, is their net run rate. At -1.598, it is the worst in the group. They not only need to win their two remaining games to have a chance, they also need to win big, and hope England crush South Africa.

Before this tournament, Sri Lanka was perhaps an opponent West Indies felt they should ease past, particularly having beaten them 2-1 in a series early in the year. Sri Lanka, though, have pushed generally pushed teams further than they have been expected to during the Super 12 stage. They’re out of the running for semi-finals places, but will nevertheless be desperate to finish their campaign with a win. For this Sri Lanka side, two wins out of five in the Super 12 stage would perhaps be considered a mild success.

Form guide

West Indies WLLLW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LLLWW

In the spotlight

Pitch and conditions

Abu Dhabi’s longer boundaries are perhaps a slightly greater challenge for West Indies’ six-hitters, but then a truer pitch should be to their liking as well. As this is a night match, expect dew to play a role and for the captain that wins the toss to field first as that has proved to be a substantial advantage this tournament.

Team news

Sri Lanka might be tempted to throw Binura Fernando in for Lahiru Kumara, just to give another seamer a run.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Perera (wk), 3 Charith Asalanka, 4 Avishka Fernando, 5 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Chamika Karunaratne, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Maheesh Theekshana 11 Binura Fernando

West Indies may just stick to their winning combination from the match against Bangladesh. Though whether they bat Chris Gayle right at the top of the order, or lower down, remains to be seen.

West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Roston Chase, 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Kieron Pollard (capt), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Nicholas Pooran, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Dwayne Bravo, 10 Akeal Hosein, 11 Ravi Rampaul

Stats and rivia

Quotes

“It’s not only us that have struggled on these wickets, but other players – world-class players – have struggled as well. They’ve just been able find a rhythm, and we haven’t been able to cross that 143-run barrier. The teams that have done well have assessed conditions well.”
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard