Having bowed out of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup after England’s fine win over India on Sunday, Sri Lanka will be playing for nothing but pride when they take on West Indies at Chester-le-street on Monday.
The Lankans have endured a somewhat topsy-turvy campaign in England this time. A win and a loss in their first two games were followed by two washed out matches. Then, against champions Australia, the Dimuth Karunaratne-led side had no answer to Aaron Finch’s onslaught as they succumbed to an 87-run loss. And just when many thought that they had seen enough of them, the Lankan Lions roared back to beat pre-tournament favourites England and throw the race to the semifinals somewhat open.
While that match put hosts England in a state of bother, the Lankans had found another reason to hope. But that hope too vanished quickly as they lost their next game to South Africa, further denting their chances of making it to the top four. Though there was still some hope of them making it through mathematically, England’s win on Sunday ended Lanka’s campaign at the 2019 World Cup.
On Monday though, the Islanders will be playing for nothing but pride. It’s no surprise that this team still revolves around its veteran pacer Lasith Malinga. Though the 35-year-old is no longer his old self, he’s shown that even today he has enough in him to disturb the best of batsmen. And against the West Indies, the Lankans will once again be counting on him to deliver the goods first up.
In the West Indies, the Lankans will be against a side that has again nothing but pride to play for. After a menacing start against Pakistan that saw their fast bowlers take us back to the hay days of Windies cricket, the team came crashing down as they failed to register a win in any of their following matches. Having bowed out of the competition after their loss to India in their previous game, the team from the Caribbean would be hoping to get some wins under their belt before flying out of England, for what is expected to be a testing post-World Cup period for them.
Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Geoff Caddick
