Sri Lanka went into 1st Test at Pallekelle as underdogs in their own den but have, quite unexpectedly, turned the tables on the mighty Aussies and now go into Galle, a ground renowned for producing the most spin friendly tracks in Sri Lanka, as slight favourites against the World No. 1 Test team.
This will be Sri Lanka’s 250th Test since their debut 34 years ago and they will be determined to make it a memorable one. Australia on the other hand have much more at stake than a special occasion as losing the Test would most probably knock them off the top of the rankings.
Galle is probably Sri Lanka’s favourite hunting ground with the pitch almost always aiding the spinners from day 1; Rangana Herath in particular has reveled in the spin friendly conditions, notching up 8 five wicket hauls and 3 ten wicket hauls in 14 Tests there.
Sri Lanka
With Nuwan Pradeep suffering an injury earlier this week the chances of Sri Lanka fielding yet another debutant during the series are extremely high. Vishwa Fernando has been knocking on the national doors for a while now and is the more likely option.
Despite the resounding win in the 1st Test, you cannot deny that most of the Sri Lankan batsmen were pretty ordinary in Pallekelle. The openers were not only dismissed cheaply in both innings but they also used up reviews unnecessarily and right on cue, the word is that Sri Lanka may leave Dimuth Karunaratne out in the 2nd Test and bring in Roshene Silva. Of course this would mean a shuffle in the batting order with either one of the Kusals, Mendis or Perera, moving to the opening slot.
With Galle being Galle, Sri Lanka will look to stick with the 3 spin bowling options although Dilruwan Perera was disappointing in the 1st Test.
Playing XI (possible) 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Kaushal Silva, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Roshene Silva 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 7 Dhananjaya de Silva, 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Lakshan Sandakan, 11 Vishwa Fernando
Photo Album – Sri Lanka Practice Session ahead of 2nd Test
Australia
No doubt the Aussies will be extremely disappointed with the way things went in Pallekelle. They came into the game as favourites having done all things possible in terms of preparation before the Test series began. Their trouble against spin continued with 18 of the 20 wickets that fell going to the 4 spinners Sri Lanka used to great effect. That being said, the pitch at Pallekelle was not one that was breaking apart in puffs of dust with the Australian batting, particularly in the 1st innings, did not live up to their lofty standards and a further trial by spin is expected with Galle likely to offer up a crumbling pitch.
Australia will be forced to make one change to their starting XI in Galle, with Steve O’Keefe, by far the most impressive bowler for the visitors in Pallekelle, sustaining an injury that has ruled him out of the whole series. Jon Holland has been flown in from Australia A’s touring squad in South Africa and will most likely make his debut.
Playing XI (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Lyon, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Jon Holland.
Pitch and Conditions
The overhead conditions in Galle look good for the beginning of the Test with rain a possibility for the remainder. The pitch is characteristically dry; expect some spin from day 1.
Final Say
Sri Lanka came out on top in Pallekelle as a result of a magnificent rear-guard innings by Kusal Mendis and some brilliant bowling by Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandakan but the worries still remain with the bat and they will have to work on putting some runs on the board if they are to repeat the feat they achieved in Pallekelle.
Steven Smith just lost his 1st Test as captain of Australia, and another loss would mean that Australia lose their No. 1 ranking as well, so rest assured the Aussies will be raring to go in Galle.
