Raipur: Dominant Sri Lanka Legends will face the West Indies Legends’ challenge in the second semi-final of the Road Safety World Series 2022 here at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
Sri Lanka Legends – who were the runner-ups in the first season – are coming into the big match on the back of an emphatic victory over Bangladesh Legends. Tillakaratne Dilshan and his teammates have secured four wins in five games.
Captain Dilshan has led his team from the front and delivered in all three departments. He has scored runs, picked up wickets and taken outstanding catches in the series to play a crucial role in his team’s dominant performance all along. Dilshan has also been the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament after Shane Watson and Dwayne Smith. He has also been the backbone of the Sri Lankan batting lineup.
Veteran all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya has also been keeping a tight leash on the opposition batters and, the left-arm spinner will be aiming to keep the West Indies batting lineup silent. Sri Lankan Lions also possess quality spinners in Jeevan Mendis, Chaturanga de Silva, and Dilshan Munaweera among others.
Sri Lankans also possess pacers like Nuwan Kulasekara – who is the leading wicket-taker in this edition – along with Chaminda Vaas and Isuru Udana. Scoring runs against his well-balanced Sri Lankan bowling attack isn’t going to be easy for the West Indies batters.
West Indies Legends, on the other hand, are coming on the back of a defeat against Australia Legends in their last league match of the series. Dwayne Smith and Kirk Edwards played good knocks against the Australians to helping West Indies post a decent total, but the bowling let the team down.
Against Sri Lankans, Brain Lara-led side will hope for a comprehensive effort in the knockout game. The batting great has proven lieutenants in the batting department and has a lot of firepower in the bowling arsenal. Krishmar Santokie and Sulieman Benn have been the top wicket-takers for the Men In Maroon and they will be looking to make amends after their dismal show in the previous game.
It will be an interesting contest between the two teams for they will leave no stones unturned to clinch a win and qualify for the finals.
