Both West Indies and Sri Lanka don't have much history of being good at this format. The pitch and conditions seem to be favorable for the players. There is a slight chance of inconsistent rain at North Sound, but it seems unlikely to stop the match from being completed. Temperatures are expected to in mid-20s Celsius. Let's have a look at the West Indies recent performance and stats- In 2019, West Indies have lost 21 and won 13 of their ODIs. Unfortunately, many of their best players were missing in bilateral series. The team played well with 3-0 in series against Bangladesh, but it was a substantially under-strength squad. Therefore, not much can be predicted about their performance in this ODI. West Indies have won one of their four recent home ODI series in early 2020. They lost to India and Bangladesh and drew 2-2 against England in 2018.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have done somewhat better - 10 wins and 14 losses - but had the benefit of having access to their best players throughout. Even when we look back at their series in Sri Lanka, where the team won 3-0, we can't predict the form. It has been a year and Sri Lanka's two best batsmen from that series - Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis - are not playing in the finalized squad. Playing in the time of Corona Virus Outbreak Not much cricket has been played during the Covid lockdowns and teams are venturing into the unknown. Would they be seriously out of form after a sit-down in this format for 12 months- It may seem to be a low-stakes series as there's no ODI World Cup this year. But we can't forget about the ODI World Cup Super League. If either team performs well in this series, the pressure over 2023 World Cup spots starts to rise. Of the nine times, Sri Lanka has played with West Indies since 2015, Sri Lanka has won 8 matches, and West Indies got only 1 win.
Wanindu Hasaranga has never played an ODI outside Asia but his googly has become more devastating in the lockdown months. His bowling record against West Indies in the three-match series last year was four wickets at 29.50, though with an economy rate of 3.93. Shai Hope was a top-scorer in the series played last year in February and March, with 238 runs at an average of 79.33. Kevin Sinclair, offspinner of West Indies may be in line for an ODI debut.
Possible batting line-up for West Indies- 1 Shai Hope (wk), 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Kyle Mayers, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Romario Shepherd, 9 Fabian Allen, 10 Akeal Hosein/Kevin Sinclair, 11 Alzarri Joseph