Final preview: Sri Lanka vs West Indies

Captains Mahela Jayawardene (left) and Darren Sammy (right) with the T20 World Cup trophy.

                                   
After three weeks and 26 matches, featuring twelve the world's best T20 cricket teams, we are down to just two: host nation Sri Lanka and the West Indies, the entertainers of world cricket. But will it be Sri Lanka who shake off their bridesmaids tag to win in front of their home crowd, or will we see Chris Gayle again leading Gangnam-style celebrations for the West Indies? We break down the two teams to try to find out:

Sri Lanka:

Probable line-up: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene (capt.), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeevan Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath/Akila Dananjaya

The Sri Lankan's have an exceptionally balanced and settled team, with the only selection dilemma is between going for the experienced spinner Herath or the boldness of youth with Dananjaya.

Strengths: Sri Lanka can win the match with either bat or ball. Captain Jayawardene is in rare form with the bat, and his opening partner Tillakaratne Dilshan is always dangerous. Their middle order is a nice mix of style and power, and there lower order players can swing for the fences. With the ball they can contain as well as attack with Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga.

Weaknesses: Outside of it's top-order of Dilshan, Jayawardene and Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's batsmen haven't scored a lot of runs, with Thirimanne and Jeevan Mendis in particular not troubling the scorers overly. This has been in part due to the performance of Jayawardene and co., but raises the question of what happens if the top order falls early. Another question is how will the pressure and expectation of winning the title at home affect the Sri Lankan players?

West Indies:

Probable line-up: Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy (capt.), Andre Russell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Samuel Badree.

The West Indies are unlikely to make any changes to the team that was so impressive against Australia. Fidel Edwards may replace spinner Andre Russell, who struggled last game, but only if conditions suit pace bowling.

Strengths: Look no further than the semi-final for a graphic illustration of the West Indies' strength. They have batsmen in Gayle and Pollard that can intimidate bowling attacks, as well others who are equally experienced and capable in the T20 arena. Spin bowlers Narine and Badree and are the West Indies chief destroyers with the ball, deceiving batsmen with changes of spin and pace.

Weaknesses: The West Indies achilles heel is their consistency, which has been a problem for a long time. The gap between their best, which is unbeatable; and their worst is vast, and you rarely know which one you are going to get. The West Indian pace attack is also nowhere near as threatening as its spinners.

The winner:

Sri Lanka have been the most consistent team in the tournament, with their only loss coming in the farcical match against South Africa. The West Indies on the other hand have won only three of their six matches. Sri Lanka clubbed the West Indies in the Super Eights stage, but the semi-finals showed that previous form and results in the tournament are almost irrelevant. One thing which that must be considered is the pitch which has been made to suit the Sri Lankan spinners, who are a more dangerous proposition than the Australian attack that the Windies feasted on. The big question is can the West Indies back up one great performance with another? If I was a betting person I'd back the crowd, pitch and consistency of Sri Lanka to guide them to the title.