ICC World T20 Sri Lanka vs West Indies: how weather, pitch, teams shape up for first semi-final

Mirpur: The last time these two sides faced eachother in the ICC World T20, West Indies beat Sri Lanka and lifted the trophy, Sri Lanka have a golden opportunity to revenge that loss today. Let's see how the weather, pitch and teams shape up for the first semi-final in Mirpur.

Weather:

The weather too won’t disappoint the fans as the chances of rain playing spoilsport in the first semi-final of the ICC World T20 are minimal. The maximum temperature will be 38°C while the minimum will hover around 24° C. The game will begin by 6.30 p.m. IST making dew a crucial component; even more so, when both the teams are packed with spinners.

Pitch:

Don’t expect too many surprises as the Mirpur wicket will continue to be spinners’ ally during the first semi-final. While the pitch has been batsmen friendly for a major part of the ICC World T2O, it has asked more questions to batsmen in the second half of the tournament than it did in the first.

Teams:
West Indies are unlikely to make any changes to the playing XI that thumped Pakistan in the final game of the Super 10. Sri Lanka, on the other hand garnered more attention with confusion over who would captain them in the semi-final untill Sri Lankan Cricket Board officially confirmed that Malinga would captain the side in the semi-final.

Sri Lanka – Malinga, Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Jayawardene, Sangakara, Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kulasekara, Herath, Senanayake, Chandimal/Thirimaane.

West Indies – Sammy, Smith, Gayle, Simmons, Dwayne Bravo, Samuels, Ramdin, Russell, Santokie, Narine, Badree.