Sri Lanka v West Indies: glorious Gayle to smash Windies to glory
Published:Sri Lanka have definitely made home advantage count in this T20 World Cup having advanced to the final for the second time in successive competitions.
The hosts are 8/11 to score a win over the West Indies and lift the trophy after the heartache of defeat to England in the last T20 showpiece.
The West Indians were not considered a major threat by many but the influential Chris Gayle has really come to the party and along with their big match players such as Kieron Pollard and Marlon Samuels has guided the men in maroon into the final.
They produced a scintillating display to annihilate the Australians in their semi-final with a 74-run victory and they look fantastic value at 11/10 to become world champions in this format for the first time.
The Windies have relied heavily on Gayle and the prolific batsman has hammered his way to 219 runs in this tournament, leaving him second only to Shane Watson.
He hit a beastly unbeaten 74 from just 41 balls in the last four and he looks tremendous value at 13/8 to make 50 again in the final.
However, Sri Lanka have batting superstars of their own, non more so than Mahela Jayawardene.
The experienced blade wielder hit a vital 42 as he top scored in a tight semi with Pakistan and despite not being as explosive as his counterparts form the Caribbean his style can be just as effective and he looks a tempting bet at 5/2 to rack up a half century in this match-up.
For those punters engaged by the imminent battle between the two star batsmen will be enticed to support their man in the man of the match market, with the West Indies lynchpin available at 5/1 while the Sri Lankan is an interesting 9/1 prospect.
