West Indies vs Sri Lanka, 2021: 1st T20I - Statistical Preview

West Indies and Sri Lanka are set to meet in the first T20I of the three-match series to be played in Antigua. Sri Lanka will also take part in ODI and Test series on this to West Indies. Both teams will take to the field to sharpen their preparations ahead of the T20 World Cup to be held in India later this year.

Sri Lanka will miss the services of their captain Dasun Shanaka in the first T20Is as he faced visa-related issues. They will be led by Angelo Mathews as of now. West Indies side will be captained by their regular captain Kieron Pollard in the series. 

Let’s look at important stats and numbers ahead of the first T20I between Sri Lanka and West Indies:

Head to Head: Both teams have faced 11 times till now in the shortest format of the game. Among these, Sri Lanka have got the better of West Indies 6 times while they have lost in the remaining matches.

4 – In the last 4 T20Is played between both teams, West Indies have won all the matches. Sri Lanka would hope to break their losing streak in this series.

105 – Chris Gayle has smashed 105 sixes in T20I format till now, which is the most by any player from West Indies. He needs 3 more sixes to go past Colin Munro and reach the fourth spot in terms of most T20I sixes hit overall.

20 – Chris Gayle will be playing an international match after almost 2 years. With him taking the field in the first T20I, his career span in international cricket will stretch over 20 years. He along with Shoaib Malik are the only two current cricketers to have such a long career span.     

934 – Ewin Lewis has so far scored 934 runs in T20 Internationals. He needs 66 more runs to complete 1000 T20I runs and become the sixth player from West Indies to achieve the milestone.

27 – Chris Gayle has bagged 27 ducks in T20 cricket and is at joint second spot currently. If he gets out without scoring one more time, he will reach the joint top spot among players with most ducks in T20s. Dwayne Smith has the most ducks (28) in T20 cricket. 

8 – Fidel Edwards has returned to the West Indies side after over 8 years. If he gets a chance in the first T20I, he will make a unique record. Among cricketers from Test-playing nations, this will be the third-longest gap between two appearances in an International match. Liam Plunkett and Joe Denly are at the top two spots in this regard.