Sri Lanka look to push further in World Test Championship

Rex Clementine in Galle

With two back-to-back Test wins at The Oval and Galle in what can only be described as a whirlwind two weeks, Sri Lanka is riding a high in the World Test Championship (WTC). They’re currently lounging at a comfy number three spot. Now, if they can knock out New Zealand again here in Galle, that spot might get stronger, and we could see them inching toward the WTC final at Lord’s next June.

But, Sri Lanka would not want to get ahead of themselves. They still have four more WTC matches left in this cycle—two against South Africa and two against the Aussies. A decent showing there, and we might just see Dhananjaya de Silva’s team packing their bags for the Lord’s final.

Another win in Galle not only bags those all-important WTC points but also marks the first series victory over New Zealand since 2009.

This comes after some other historical highs: beating India in an ODI series after 27 years and snatching a Test win in England after a full decade. Sri Lanka is clearly on a roll, or should we say, they’ve got the cricketing gods smiling down on them.

Sri Lanka will hand Nishan Peiris his Test debut, making him Test cap number 167. The 27-year-old off-spinner was drafted into the squad after Vishwa Fernando pulled a hamstring. Peiris will take over from Ramesh Mendis, who featured in the first Test. But that’s not all—Sri Lanka are also bringing in Milan Ratnayake for Lahiru Kumara. The idea here? Strengthen the lower order. The lower order has been less than inspirational lately. Ratnayake is expected to shore that up.

Sri Lanka’s batting coach, Thilina Kandamby, knows this all too well. “We’ve been working on scoring big in the first innings,” he said. “Lately, we’ve been chasing more than leading because our first-innings totals haven’t been strong enough. There’s plenty of room for improvement with the lower order batting there too.”

Meanwhile, lurking in the opposition’s corner is New Zealand fast bowler William O’Rourke, who gave Sri Lanka some nasty surprises in the first Test with his bouncing balls—no one saw that coming, especially in Galle! Kandamby admitted they were caught off guard but promised they’d be better prepared this time. “We handled the short ball well in England, but O’Rourke’s inconsistent bounce here got us. We’ve got a few tricks up our sleeve for the rematch.”

New Zealand’s coach, Gary Stead, was upbeat despite the loss. “It was a pretty evenly matched contest for the most part. We’ve just got to focus on adapting and taking it one session at a time. These conditions are a world away from home in New Zealand, but we’ve got the skill to handle them.”

There’s also a bit of reshuffling going on in the New Zealand camp. Out goes left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner after a rather forgettable performance with just one wicket and a grand total of four runs in the first Test.

Enter Michael Bracewell, who’ll be hoping to do better. And, on the batting front, Will Young, fresh off a successful County stint with Nottinghamshire, may get the nod over Devon Conway, who’s in a bit of a slump, having gone ten Test innings without a half-century.

With Sri Lanka looking to make inroads and New Zealand aiming to bounce back, this Test promises to be one to watch!

Sri Lanka:

Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (C), Kusal Mendis (WK), Milan Ratnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Nishan Peiris.

New Zealand (From):

Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (WK), Glenn Phillips, Tim Southee (C), Michael Bracewell, Ajaz Patel, William O’Rourke, Devon Conway, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Ben Sears.

Umpires:

Michael Gough (ENG) and Nitin Menon (IND)

Third Umpire:

Ahsan Raza (PAK)

Match Referee:

Javagal Srinath (IND)

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