West Indies eyeing return to number-one T20 ranking

DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka (CMC):

WEST INDIES T20 vice-captain Roston Chase is aiming for a 3-0 series sweep over Sri Lanka in their current T20 series, which he said would go a long way in helping the Caribbean side reclaim the number-one spot in the ICC’s Men’s T20I rankings by the end of 2024.

The West Indies won the opening T20I on Sunday with a comfortable five-wicket victory over the home side to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

Chase, who has been having a superb year in the T20 format, is hoping the Windies can win the second match on Tuesday and the third and final match on Thursday, to gain valuable points and move up from third in the rankings.

The West Indies currently have 255 points, two less than second-placed Australia, with India leading the way on 268 points.

With the regional side also set to play three T20Is against England before the end of the year, Chase believes a good showing in both series will propel West Indies to the top of the rankings, a position they first held in 2016.

“We would love to get a 3-0 win in the series because we want to challenge for that number-one spot by the end of the year,” Chase said.

“So, every point counts and, if we could get the 3-0 victory and finish the year strong in the other series to come, I think we will be at that number-one spot when the year ends.”

Despite the victory in the opening game, Chase said he still felt there were some areas the team needs to improve on in the batting and bowling departments, heading into the remaining matches.

“It was a good game and a good start from the guys. I just think that we played a good game of cricket but, after the good start we had from [Brandon] King and [Evin] Lewis, I just thought that we fell down a bit in the middle overs.

“We lost a couple quick wickets, so, if there is just one thing that we could concentrate on, not losing wickets in clusters, I think that we’ll be even more clinical,” Chase said.

“I thought the bowlers started well in the Power Play. The ball was doing a bit, so it was nice to see the new-ball bowlers getting the ball to move and testing the Sri Lankan batsmen.

“But I just think that, if we could probably pick up a bit more, maybe one more or two more wickets in the middle, it would make it easier for the guys to come in on the back end and execute,” he added.