WI vs SL Match Prediction & Betting Tips - Mar 21, 2021

WI vs SL Match Prediction - Mar 21, 2021

Sri Lanka had a tough time in the white ball games that it played on its tour to West Indies so far. Just one win in a T20 international suggests that the team has really struggled. In actuality, though, we believe Sri Lanka has played a bit better than what the results suggest. They have batted well and the spinners have bowled on some occasions as well.

Now, however, the contest shift to the test matches and this is where things can get interesting. There are going to be some new faces in the team for the West Indies and Sri Lanka is going to bring back some test regulars as well.

Test matches have been the weakest format for both teams over the last few years and so there are weaknesses to be exploited on both teams.

West Indies vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Match 2021 is going to be played at the Sir Vivan Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua starting on the 21st of March 2021.

WI vs SL Team Previews

West Indies

West Indies will be happy that it is playing its opening match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. It has won against England (2019), Bangladesh (2018), and even New Zealand ( 2012) at this venue. India is the only team that it has lost to.

Now, led by Kraigg Brathwait, under whose captaincy West Indies managed to pull off some near-miraculous victories in Bangladesh, West Indies would want to start a new and more dominant chapter of its test history.

One of the heroes from the ODI series, Shai Hope, is not a part of the squad after a prolonged poor run in this format. The batting is going to be led by Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, and John Campbell. Joshua de Silva is the wicketkeeper and he is not a bad batsman either.

The real depth in the batting comes from the presence of all-rounders like Jason Holder and Rakheem Cornwall.

This batting lineup is comprised of players who almost exclusively play test matches and so they have the temperament to play the long game. With recent success behind them, we expect the West Indies to score a lot of runs against the weak Sri Lankan bowling.

Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, and Alzarri Joseph lead a potent pace attack on a surface that is sure to offer them some help.

West Indies Playing 11

Kraigg Brathwaite, Joshua De Silva, Jermaine Blackwood, NE Bonner, John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Kemar Roach.


Sri Lanka

The odds are stacked against Sri Lanka going into this test series. It has not won a single test match in its previous four series (three of them away from home) and its most recent series was a 2-0 loss to England at home.

That being said, Sri Lanka did win 2-0 against South Africa in 2019 and so don’t just write it off completely. The last time Sri Lanka toured the West Indies for a Test series was in 2018 where the result was 1-1 after two matches.

Sri Lanka’s recent problems have stemmed from a poor bowling attack and an inability of its batsmen to get big scores consistently. They are also going to be without Kusal Perera, one of their best batsmen in overseas conditions over the last few years. Angelo Matthews had left the tour mid-way for personal reasons and it is unlikely that he will feature in the first test match (although we have no concrete news either way right now).

That means the bulk of the runs have to come from Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal, the two senior players in the team. Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhanajaya de silva, and Niroshan Dickwella are all likely to get a run in the team for the first match.

We may also see Pathum Nissanka get a chance although Oshada Fernando, Roishen Silva, and Ramesh Mendis are a part of the squad as well.

This is a good batting lineup on paper but we have seen it fail far too often in recent times to get our hopes up. Among the bowlers, Dushmanth Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Lasith Embuldeniya should find a place in the starting eleven.

The bowling lacks teeth and we worry about its ability to take 20 wickets to win a match in West Indian conditions.

Sri Lanka Playing 11

Dimuth Karunaratne, HDRL Thirimanne, Oshada Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Pathum Nissanka, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, MVT Fernando, Lasith Embuldeniya, PVD Chameera.

WI vs SL Toss Prediction

The team that wins the toss is going to want to bat first. Three out of the five results at this venue have been won by the team batting first and so while not a huge advantage, the best time to get runs seems to be in the first inning of the Test match.

Read our guide on toss predictions to learn how we analyze and come up with our tips.

Pitch and Conditions

The conditions are expected to be good for cricket and not much rain is around. The pitch should be hard, fast, and with a fair bit of bounce in it. The bowlers will always have something to work with and the Duke ball also tends to swing a bit longer in general. The pitch flattens out over the first couple of days before assisting the spinners as the match progresses.

A score of around 300 is par batting first.

WI vs SL Betting Tips

We are going to stick with the West Indies in this contest. We don’t think the West Indies test team is that much better than the Sri Lankans but they have a significant advantage while playing in their own conditions. The bowling attack of the West Indies has been very effective in helping them win matches and that is what we think will happen once more.

Bet on the West Indies to win.

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Today Match Prediction

West Indies To Win the Match, 1.68

Bet Tip Here

Who will win WI vs SL

West Indies 66.1% (76)
Sri Lanka 33.9% (39)
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