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28 March 2024

Spin to win Lanka walking into Windies' Gayle trap

Published
By Staff

The stage is set.

Sri Lanka have the chance to break their ‘final’ hoodoo – not having won a major cricket final in three attempts.

The West Indies, for so long now an impotent cricketing force, have the chance to announce to the world that they are back. And mean business.

This is why strategy is going to be as key as winning the toss in Colombo today.

Emirates 24|7 Poll predicts:
 
Sri Lanka to win - 46%
 
West Indies to win - 54%

The West Indies will be hoping Sri Lanka fall for their Chris Gayle trap.

The Gayle trap works simply – teams over-focus on getting him out, ignoring other threats like Dwayne Bravo and Kieran Pollard.

If Gayle does what he did to Australia, scoring 75 off 41 balls at a strike rate of 182-odd, pacing his innings perfectly, no matter what Sri Lanka do, they will have no chance.

Instead, Pollard who scored 38 of 15 at a strike rate of 253, will be the one who can actually take the game away from Lanka, when all the Lankan energy has been spent on getting Chris Gayle out.

Beware Lanka: Windies never bowled out below 100

Sri Lanka have a tough choice to make between Rangana Herath and his carrom ball and the unknown factor that Akila Dananjaya brings.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Sangakkara will have to bat for their lives if the spin trick and Lasith Malinga fail.

Lanka need to be ready to beat the West Indies as a team and not fall for the Gayle trap.

Pitch report: Expected to turn. What else!?

Match Time: Colombo, (19:00 local | 13:30 GMT | 17:30 GST)

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