West Indies tri-series 2013: India v/s Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka Preview

Sri Lanka will have to come out all guns blazing in their second match of the tri-nation series against India. Against West Indies, they crumbled as though without defensive recourses, allowing their opponents to easily score the bonus point. Thus, it boils down to this one match for the Lankan Lions to take charge and possibly change their presently bleak prospects of making it count in the tournament.

Team Sri Lanka Strengths: The team does have strength in names and numbers. Players like Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Tharanga, Thirimanne and Kulasekara will especially be key against India. They are capable of mounting a fight and their performance against India can be expected to play out to their full strengths.

Team Sri Lanka Weaknesses: The Indian team’s ability to outmanoeuvre Sri Lanka is their biggest weakness. Malinga has often been the favourite target of the Indian batsman, and he has been punished quite ruthlessly by most of the Indian batsmen. Also, if in case of losing the toss the Sri Lankan batting order fails to redeem the team’s chances then the team would be in serious problems, especially if its most feared bowler is likely to be tossed all around the park.

Opportunities and Threats: Sri Lanka face the threat of losing their third match in a row. The opportunity too presents itself for the team on the face of this threat. If the Lankan team plays to its potential with each player complementing his team-mate, the match is an excellent opportunity for Sri Lanka to not just score a victory, but also manage to upend and overall the Indian momentum completely.

Pitch Factors: A bowler-friendly, slower batting track as seen in the previous two matches. The team winning the toss would thus be inclined towards fielding first and then possibly successfully chasing the set target.

Match Prediction

India to win over Sri Lanka in the absence of unnecessary dramatics.