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Antigua’s Coolidge Cricket Ground is set to host the first T20I of the three-match series between West Indies and Sri Lanka, starting on Wednesday (March 03).
The home side will play their first T20 matches of 2021, and they will be looking to provide some serious competition as the preparations for the World Cup later this year will also begin with this series.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka last played any T20 game was against the West Indies at their home in Pallekele. But they lost that series 2-0, so they will be hoping to perform much better this time around.
Pitch report:
The Pitch at Coolidge Cricket Ground generally gets slower as the game progresses, providing decent assistance for the spinners. Teams winning the toss should look to bat first as the evening fixture will bring the dew factor into play as well.
Head to Head record:
Matches played: 11 | West Indies Won: 5 | Sri Lanka Won: 6 | Tied: 0
Playing Combination:
West Indies
The hosts are preparing for the upcoming World Cup as they have called some old faces in the squad who are T20 specialists. The likes of Chris Gayle and Fidel Edwards have returned to the T20I outfit, while the presence of Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Nicholas Pooran and Lendl Simmons will boost the team combination further.
WI XI: Kieron Pollard (c), Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Jason Holder, Fidel Edwards, Akeal Hosein, Kevin Sinclair.
Sri Lanka
The delay in the arrival of Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka due to some visa issues has impacted the preparations of the touring side, and he will be likely to miss at least the opening game. In his absence, veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews has been named as Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain.
SL XI: Angelo Mathews (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Danushka Gunathilake, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Thisara Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Suranga Lakmal, Asitha Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera.
