IT is really do or die for West Indies and even if they do well, they could still ‘die’ given the net run-rate issue they currently battle in the ongoing World T20 in the United Arab Emirates.

West Indies, on two points from three matches, has a net run rate of -1.598, the worst among the teams in the group who are still in contention for a spot in the semi-finals.

But as they face Sri Lanka today, captain Kieron Pollard is upbeat that there is still great self-believe the job can be done.

“In this thing called life and sport, nothing is impossible; what I can safely say is yes, the guys are confident (and) we know what is needed from a run-rate perspective and we will take all things into consideration when that match starts”, the skipper expressed on the eve of the all-important clash.

He added, “It is an opportunity now that guys can sort of take off the shackles that have sort of been holding us back in terms of our batting performance and there is no secret about that. It is very important we win the cricket and all the other opportunities around it as well.”

Pollard who suffered a thigh injury in the team’s last match against Bangladesh, and could not take the field, said he is feeling “pretty good” after training over the last couple of days and is looking for a solid performance.

West Indies got the better of the Sri Lankans when they toured the Caribbean earlier in the year but the skipper is conscious it is a different squad in different circumstances and he is up for the challenge.

“We don’t back down from a challenge, we don’t hide from certain things. We accept when things have gone badly and we also accept the applause when doing well.”

West Indies face Sri Lanka today from 10:00hrs then Australia on Saturday from 06:00hrs and they need to win both matches quite convincingly and hope other results go their way to keep the title defence hopes alive.

West Indies squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (v-c), Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein.