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Sri Lanka will look forward to the Three M’s – Mendis, Murali and Malinga to deliver once again when they face the West Indies in the second semi-final today. In contrast, wayward bowling by the West Indies may prove to be their biggest handicap.

In all the matches in this Championship so far, West Indian batsmen have hit almost everything coming their way. But a closer analysis, according to Castrol Index, reveals that the Batting Momentum (BM) between the teams don’t differ much with West Indies a shade higher at 225 compared to the Lankan’s 215. Can the Windies depend only on their batting prowess this time or should they instil more discipline in their bowlers to win this one?

With the first innings total at Kennington Oval wicket averaging around 180, a high scoring match can easily be expected from the two sides who are packed with hard-hitters. But Sri Lanka has a much stronger bowling department with a wider variation with the Three M’s – Mendis, Murali and Malinga. They have the cunning Ajantha Mendis, who can fox the batsmen with his unorthodox styles. Then there is Lasith Malinga whose stinging yorkers can choke even the biggest hitters. And then there is Muttiah Muralitharan, who needs no introduction.

Bowling Performances of West Indies and Sri Lanka in 2009 ICC T20

An interesting fact in the table above reveals that Dwayne Bravo, Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards are conceding too many runs and picking fewer wickets than their Lankan counterparts – a big advantage in the shortest version of the game. The 12 overs from the Lankan bowling trio usually cost around 75 runs in a match – another big advantage to Sri Lanka. This fact may be the sole differentiator between the teams considering the average second innings total at The Oval is around 135. The Windies batsmen will have to offset this advantage with patient batting and disciplined bowling.