Dwayne Smith at practice in Colombo on Friday

Colombo: Sri Lanka take on the West Indies in their final league game of the triangular series with their place in the competition’s title-round already ensured.

The West Indies are mathematically still not out of the competition but with Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya set to return to the fold having recovered from their injuries, it remains to be seen how Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and his men perform at the citadel of Lankan cricket.

Even if the West Indies lose on Saturday, they could still make it to the final by beating India by an overwhelming margin on Sunday. The odds, though, are stacked against them.

Little has gone right for the West Indies in the competition, though the pyrotechnics of their exciting allrounder Dwayne Smith in Dambulla would offer them a ray of hope.

Smith flung his bat around when all appeared lost against Sri Lanka in their previous encounter and reduced the margin of defeat to only 50 runs.

Chanderpaul has not really fired for them so far and if he and the openers could provide a decent start, the West Indies could still push the hosts on the back-foot.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, appear to be peaking at the right time. They have taken great heart from beating India against all odds on Wednesday with Jayasuriya, Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa and Muttiah Muralidharan missing from their line-up.

The wicket is known to help spinners, though occasionally when the roller is applied for a longer duration, it turns into a batting paradise.

Teams

Sri Lanka (from): Sanath Jayasuriya, Maravan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana, Muthiah Muralidharan, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Mahroof, Dilhara Fernando, Dilhara Lokhuttege.

West Indies (from): Xavier Marshall, Renuko Morton, Sylvester Joseph, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonariane, Dwayne Smith, Ricardo Powell, R. Ramdass, Darren Powell, Jermaine Lawson, Tino Best, Omari Banks.