A historical test series between Ireland and Sri Lanka is set to kick off tomorrow (16th April) at Galle International Stadium. This will be the first time that both teams are playing against each other in the longest form of cricket and the second match is scheduled for April 24-28 at the same venue.
Sri Lanka will be captained by their usual skipper Dimuth Karunaratne. He will be accompanied by renowned names such as Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Dinesh Chandimal.
The trio of Lasith Embuldeniya, Ramesh Mendis, and Prabath Jayasuriya consists of the spin department with the addition of uncapped Dushan Hemantha. Uncapped pacer Milan Ratnayake retains his spot despite warming the benches in the New Zealand venture. While Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha are rested, Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando form the pace bowling duo of the home side.
Read More – Lasith Embuldeniya returns; maiden call-up for Dushan Hemantha
Sri Lanka has made several changes including potential wicketkeeper duties for Sadeera Samarawickrama, who makes his international Test comeback after an absence of more than five years.
“Sadeera has done pretty well in domestic cricket and deserves the break. He’s really hungry as well and we hope he’ll cement his place in the side,” Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne told.
Karunaratne will have a new opening partner in Nishan Madushka, with Oshada Fernando axed following last month’s 2-0 series loss in New Zealand.
“I have opened the batting with about 10 guys now in Test match cricket so it’s nothing new for me,” Karunaratne said of the switch. “He’s been scoring heavily this year and this is a huge break for him.”
On the other hand, Ireland will be captained by Andrew Balbirnie. He will be accompanied by mainstays – Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector in the batting department. The former became the first Irish cricketer to notch a Test hundred for the national side while the latter was the first Ireland cricketer to secure fifty-plus scores in both innings.
Read More – Ireland name squad for Sri Lanka Tests
Paul Stirling will join the side from the 2nd Test and is unavailable for the initial one. The pace bowling will be spearheaded by Mark Adair who will be succored by Graham Hume and all-rounder Curtis Campher while former Zimbabwe cricketer, PJ Moor who switched to Ireland continues to be a part of the side despite a poor run in the Bangladesh series. Ben White, Andy McBrine, and Matthew Humphreys are likely to form the spin department for the visiting side with George Dockrell chipping in with part-time spin.
“In Dhaka, we showed we’ve a number of players who can step up to the mark. The potential is there. We’re trying to get more exposure and more games to them. Hopefully, what we learnt from the last week, we’ll bring to this series.” – Andrew Balbirnie
Pitch and conditions
The weather in Galle is expected to be nice and sunny (read: hot and sweltering) with no rain expected over the coming week. And while the Galle pitch in recent times hasn’t deteriorated towards the fourth and fifth days as it might have in the past, expect it to spin, nevertheless.
Team news
Having handed out seven debuts in their last outing against Bangladesh, some of whom had spent time training in subcontinental conditions, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see an unchanged XI.
Ireland (probable) XI: Murray Commins, James McCollum, Andy Balbirnie (C), Harry Tector, PJ Moor, Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Graham Hume, Ben White
Most of the Sri Lankan side picks itself. Sadeera Samarawickrama will likely see a Test return following a five-year absence.
Sri Lanka (probable) XI: Dimuth Karunaratne (C), Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando
 at Galle International Stadium. This will be the first time that both teams are playing against each other in the longest form of the cricket and the second match scheduled for April 24-28 at the same venue.){kind=link}