Match Preview: Sri Lanka vs West Indies

Ground Reality
Trent Bridge has been a good wicket so far in the tournament, with a slight bias towards batsmen. A safe score here would have to be one in excess of 170-175. As is usual in England, rain and thunder are forecast for the day, but so far the tournament has been fortunate to not be too affected by the rains. If this match does get affected, it would be less harmful than would have been expected since both teams are already through to the next stage.

The Teams They were both expected to fight it out for the second qualifying spot in the 'Group of Death', but due to their superb displays against Australia, they have the luxury of treating this match as a warm-up/practice match and trying out new combinations and players. Both teams will make the Super Eights, and the result of this match is immaterial.

Sri Lanka: They put up a thoroughly professional performance to outclass the Australians, and they'll be well pleased with the form of Dilshan and Sangakkara. The heartening aspect for them is that Jayawardene has recovered from his injury in the IPL. The trio are the lynch-pins of the Lankan batting, and much will depend on how they fire. Their bowling is amongst the best in the tournament, and they will be pleased that Ajantha Mendis showed his class in the match against Australia. It showed the value of handling a world-class bowler in the correct fashion - something the Kolkata Knight Riders might want to keep in mind.

West Indies: Although they won convincingly against Australia, too much of their success depends on Chris Gayle. Ideally, they might want to consider not playing him in this match, to give the opportunity for some others to stand up and take the pressure. In the Super Eights, there will surely be a match where Gayle might fail, and then if the remaining players have already had a taste of what it is like to bat in the absence of Gayle, they will be better suited to handling the pressure in a match that is more important. None of their bowlers were particularly impressive against Australia, and they should look at ways for their bowlers to hit their stride before the second phase.

1 - Sanath Jayasuriya's ranking for Sri Lanka in T20 Internationals on the following parameters: Most Runs (343), Highest Strike Rate (150.43 for a minimum of 50 runs scored), and Highest Score made (88). The old warhorse may not be in the best touch, but his value to his side is undisputed.

2.1 - The ratio of the number of runs Chris Gayle has in T20 Internationals against the second highest scorer for the West Indies - Dwayne Smith. Gayle has 349 runs, while Smith has 166. Ironically enough, Smith has not even been picked in the West Indian squad.

Soundbytes:
"The pressure will no doubt be a bit less. But international cricket is serious business, there is no question of taking it easy" - Kumar Sangakkara on the West Indies match.
"Once I can clear the boundary I am satisfied with that, it doesn't matter how far it goes." - Chris Gayle

Teams:
West Indies (From): Chris Gayle(c), Xavier Marshall, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Keiron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin(w), Darren Sammy, Lionel Baker, Sulieman Benn, Fidel Edwards, David Bernard, Andre Fletcher, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor

Sri Lanka (From): Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara(w/c), Mahela Jayawardene, Jehan Mubarak, Angelo Mathews, Thilan Thushara, Isuru Udana, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Indika de Saram, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chamara Silva