With West Indies and Sri Lanka already through to the Super Eights, there is little at stake in Wednesday’s clash
S Rajesh10-Jun-2009Match factsWednesday, June 10
Start time 13.30 local (12.30 GMT)Ajantha Mendis was more than a handful for Australia, and could cause plenty of problems for West Indies too•AFP
Big PictureWith West Indies and Sri Lanka already through to the next stage after defeating Australia, and with the groups for the Super Eights already decided, there is little at stake in Wednesday’s clash which, incidentally, is the 100th Twenty20 international. However, both teams were superb in their demolition of Australia, and neither will want that momentum to slip away with a sloppy display going into the next stage of the tournament.Chris Gayle is an unlikely starter with a dodgy knee, but that won’t upset West Indies as long as he is fit for the bigger games ahead. Team sources say Gayle wants to play every game in this tournament and “make a statement” but he will be subjected to a fitness test at Trent Bridge before the game. Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards struck early blows with the new ball, and a similar performance against the top-heavy batting line-up of Sri Lanka could put them on top. Sri Lanka, though, have the spin wizardry of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, which could be more than a handful for West Indies.Form guide (last five matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka WLWWL
Tillakaratne Dilshan carried on his good work from the IPL, scoring a 32-ball 53 against Australia. Kumar Sangakkara was in fine form too, while Mendis had far too many tricks for the Australian batsmen.West Indies WWLTW
The opening batsmen did most of the work against Australia, but with Gayle unlikely to play, it’ll probably give the middle-order batsmen an opportunity to get a hit before the Super Eight games.Watch out for…Taylor and Edwards v Dilshan: Dilshan has been in outstanding form over the last couple of months, and the feature of his batting has been his aggression. Against the extreme pace of Taylor and Edwards, though, it could be quite a task, especially if the conditions are favourable for quick bowling.Mendis and Murali v Sarwan and Chanderpaul: The Sri Lankan spinners are capable of bothering the best, and West Indies will look to their two most experienced batsmen to get through those tricky periods.Team newsIsuru Udana went for 47 runs in his four overs against Australia, and Sri Lanka might want to give an opportunity Nuwan Kulasekara, who missed out against Australia.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Jehan Mubarak, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Lasith Malinga.Gayle’s injury means there’s an opening in the batting line-up. Xavier Marshall could move one place up the order to open with Andre Fletcher, while Lendl Simmons fills in for Gayle.West Indies: (probable) 1 Andre Fletcher, 2 Xavier Marshall, 3 Lendl Simmons, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Keiron Pollard, 8 Denesh Ramdin (capt & wk), 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Fidel Edwards.Pitch and conditionsRains have been forecast for Wednesday evening, but both teams will hope it comes down only after the end of their game.Quotes”In a Twenty20 game, where you have to attack almost every ball you play, to have unpredictability, that mystery around him [Mendis] is good. Batsmen will get on top of him on some days but more often than not he’s a wicket-taking bowler, an attacking bowler.”
.”I’m carrying a bit of an injury so I don’t know if I’m playing. After batting [against Australia] I didn’t feel it, but the next day I couldn’t walk properly. It had swollen and bruised a lot.”
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