SLW vs WIW Match Preview
The West Indies Women made an excellent start to their inning, scoring 40 runs without dropping a wicket from 6.3 overs. However, their opening batter, Stefanie Taylor, had to retire hurt in the game. Despite this reasonable start, the skipper Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph lost their wickets and could not carry forward the momentum to a big score. The West Indies middle order contributed little, and it was left to the later-order heroics from Aaliyah Alleyne and Afy Fletcher to take the team to a decent score.
Alleyne scored 26 runs from 22 balls with three fours. During the Sri Lankan reply, several West Indies bowlers were in good nick, picking up wickets regularly. But none looked threatening enough to run through the Lankan batting order like Athapaththu and Priyadharashani did. The pick of the bowlers was Afy Fletcher, who picked up two victims for 29 runs. Other bowlers that were among the wickets included Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, the skipper Hayley Matthews, and Karishma Ramharack.
The Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu decided to open the bowling attack for Lanka. She was in super touch with the ball, picking up four wickets for 29 runs from four overs. Inoshi Priyadharshani also picked up three wickets for 28 runs from her four overs. These two ran riot in the West Indies innings. No one could get going and take the score to an imposing one. Ama Kanchana was the only other bowler to be among the wickets. She picked up one wicket for 19 runs from her three overs.
The West Indies camp must have been exhilarated when they picked up the early wicket of Chamari Athapaththu. But after that Vishmi Gunaratne and Harshitha Samarawickrama assured that there were no further shocks by contributing 46 runs for the second wicket. After the dismissal of these two, it was left to Hasini Perera and Nillakshika Silva to get the Lankan batting close to the target. Perera scored 20 from 14 balls, while Silva put together 17 from 15. These batters will again be expected to do well in the second game.
Weather Report
We are expecting partly cloudy conditions during this game on Wednesday morning. Some passing rain might also interrupt the proceeding. The temperature during this contest will remain close to 30 degrees. There is also a possibility of getting strong winds during the contest.
Pitch Report
The wicket at the Hambantota venue is expected to be balanced. However, it can take a turn in the second innings. This will help the spinners get purchase from the track. Sri Lankan spinners will be well-equipped to take advantage of the conditions.
Notable stats
Chamari Athapaththu has a great all-round record in recent games.
Athapaththu has not only scored 307 runs from her last ten games but also taken 12 wickets.
Hayley Matthews has a terrific all-around record in T20I cricket in the last ten games.
Matthews has not only scored 593 runs in the last ten games but also picked up 17 wickets.
Team News
The presence of Hayley Matthews in the team with full fitness would have buoyed the Caribbean team, but it was not sufficient to get them a win. There are some other niggling injury worries for West Indies Women as well.
SLW vs WIW Probable 11
SLW Playing 11
- Chamari Athapaththu (C)
- Vishmi Gunaratne
- Harshitha Samarawickrama
- Hasini Perera
- Kavisha Dilhari
- Nilakshi de Silva
- Anushka Sanjeewani (Wk)
- Sugandika Kumari
- Achini Kulasuriya
- Udeshika Prabodhani
- Sachini Nisansala
WIW Playing 11
- Qiana Joseph
- Hayley Matthews (C)
- Shemaine Campbelle (Wk)
- Stafanie Taylor
- Chedean Nation
- Chinelle Henry
- Aaliyah Alleyne
- Afy Fletcher
- Zaida James
- Karishma Ramharack
- Shamilia Connell
Dream11 Prediction
West Indies Women have an excellent record against Sri Lankan Women in this format. But they have got into a losing habit and have been unable to stage a comeback in the T20I series either. The presence of Hayley Matthews after the injury score has not been able to get them the elusive first win of the tour. We will bet with Sri Lanka to win this contest.
Top Picks
Chamari Athapaththu: The Sri Lankan skipper was in great touch in the first game, picking up four wickets. You can expect her to be among runs soon as well.
Hayley Matthews: Matthews's presence in the playing eleven would have been a huge boost to the Windies' ranks. She is the leading all-rounder in Women's T20I cricket.
Vishmi Gunaratne: Gunaratne has scored 298 runs in her last ten games with an average of 42.57.
Afy Fletcher: The West Indies bowler has taken eleven wickets in her last ten games, with a strike rate of 17.63.
SLW vs WIW Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: S Campbelle
Batters: H Madavi, S Taylor, V Rajapaksha
All-rounders: H Matthews (VC), C Atapattu (C), K Dilhari, Q Joseph
Bowlers: A Fletcher, K Ramharack, I Fernando
