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ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Tough job ahead for Sri Lanka and West Indies post tournament

The two teams that have been knocked out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 will have to play for their pride, for their fans, and keep in mind their journey post the tournament when they meet on Monday at the Riverside Ground

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Tough job ahead for Sri Lanka and West Indies post tournament

Sri Lanka's captain Dimuth Karunaratne walks back to the pavilion after losing his wicket for one run during the 2019 Cricket World Cup group stage match between England and Sri Lanka at Headingley in Leeds, northern England, on June 21, 2019. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP)

Sri Lanka and West Indies- the two teams that have been knocked out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 will have to play for their pride, for their fans, and keep in mind their journey post the tournament when they meet on Monday at the Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street.

How have the Lankans performed in this tournament? The question may not be that straightforward. Sri Lanka had won just 12 out of their 53 completed ODI matches from 2017 till the start of the World Cup.

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Dimuth Karunaratne, the man who is leading them in this tournament, had last featured in an ODI in the previous World Cup. The same team though managed to beat tournament favourites England and went past Afghanistan and with a couple of points from washed out games were in the hunt for a semi-final berth until England defeated India on Sunday.

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However, cricket pundits and fans would agree that Sri Lanka being knocked out of the tournament is a more accurate representation of their recent form and performance.

Sri Lanka will now have to identify players who can take their cricket forward and aim at coming back as a stronger, improved side in this tournament. The match against West Indies could just be the beginning of that endeavour.

On the other side is West Indies who have had a topsy-turvy World Cup campaign post a convincing win against Pakistan. Their bowling and batting have all looked uni-dimensional with batsmen looking for big hits while their bowlers bowling the short pitch length.

Although they could have gotten away with it in a T20 tournament, converting the ones into twos, bowling mix up deliveries and variations and building steady partnerships are a few important aspects of the 50 overs format which they have failed to include in their performances.

Had the men from the Caribbean applied themselves a bit more firmly against Australia and had Carlos Braithwaite managed to clear the boundary against New Zealand before getting caught in the deep, things could well have been different for West Indies but it is time they look beyond the World Cup post being knocked out of this edition.

The teams meet at the Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street. Live action begins from 3 pm (IST) onwards.

Squads:

West Indies: Jason Holder (c), Chris Gayle, Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Kemar Roach, Ashley Nurse, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sunil Ambris, Evin Lewis, Shannon Gabriel, Darren Bravo, Fabian Allen

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Dhananjaya de Silva, Kasun Rajitha, Avishka Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis (wk), Jeevan Mendis, Kusal Perera (wk), Thisara Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay

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