Five things to look forward to in the Sri Lanka vs West Indies series
With most of the cricketing world’s focus on the upcoming heavyweight clash between India and South Africa, we seem to have forgotten another engaging series that is right around the corner – the West Indies’ tour of Sri Lanka. Starting October 14, the West Indies play two tests, three ODIs and two T20Is in a 44-day tour to the island nation.After failing to qualify for the Champions Trophy in 2017 – the first time since its inception – West Indies travel to Sri Lanka to set things right. On the other hand, after back-to-back home losses against Pakistan and India, Sri Lanka will want to reassert their home advantage. Statistically one of the most powerful teams at home in the last five years, this year has been a bit of a letdown for Sri Lanka. Facing a lower ranked team such as West Indies, they will back themselves to exceed expectations and come out on top.With several batsman-bowler battles in store, the series promises to be one filled with excitement and power-packed performances. The West Indians will have a point to prove come October, and the Sri Lankans will be waiting. Here, we take a look at 5 things we will look forward to in the series:
#1 Angelo Mathews\' Golden Run
Angelo Mathews was appointed the captain of the Sri Lanka side in 2013, and he has taken to it like a fish to water. Plenty of legends in the game have found the pressure of captaincy too much to bear, and their form has dipped when they have been made captain. But Mathews seem to thrive on captaincy, with his form taking a dramatic upward curve since he was made the skipper of the side. Mathews has a 47-41 win/loss ratio in all international cricket matches since his appointment, the fourth most in Sri Lanka’s history.
As captain, Mathews has scored 2133 runs in 21 tests, with six hundreds and eleven fifties on the way. Apart from New Zealand and Australia, he averages more than 50 runs against all other test playing nations. He has been especially brilliant at home, scoring 1688 runs in 17 tests at an average of 73.39. In He has also averaged more than 50 in seven out of his nine test series as captain, cementing his place as Sri Lanka’s leading scorer in tests in the past two years. He has not stayed quiet in ODIs either, with 2144 runs in 72 matches. In addition to that, he has performed splendidly as an all-rounder, taking 46 wickets at an average of 33.97, at a terrific economy of just 4.61.
In the last series against India, Mathews scored 339 runs in 3 matches, at times looking absolutely unstoppable. He played both spin and seam with equal ease, and was the highest scorer in the series, though Sri Lanka lost it eventually. At one point, Mathews had 10 scores of fifty or more in 20 innings, which substantially increased his reputation as a solid batsman in tests. With the West Indian bowlers going all guns at the Sri Lankan team, it will be interesting to see Mathews’ response, though it is assured that he will dig deep to see his team out of trouble, as he always has.