After an embarrassing defeat by an innings and 242 runs in the first test against Australia – Sri Lanka’s worst loss in its history – the hosts are hungry to bounce back in Galle and level the two-match series.
The game, which starts on Thursday, holds added significance as it marks the farewell test for 36-year-old opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne, who has amassed 7,172 runs and will be playing in his 100th match.
The former captain has reflected on his journey, expressing gratitude for an international career that exceeded his expectations.
Karunaratne told reporters on Wednesday: “I have enjoyed every bit of the cricket. I will miss being in the dressing room. When I started all I wanted was to play just one test match, but to finish with 100 is something I truly cherish. Around 2017 I believed I could push towards 10,000 test runs but in recent years we haven’t played enough test cricket, which is disappointing.”
Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva emphasized the need for a strong response after the first test and Sri Lanka is expected to make three changes to its team.
Top-order batter Pathum Nissanka is set to replace Oshada Fernando, off-spinner Ramesh Mendis is likely to come in for leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay and paceman Lahiru Kumara is expected to be preferred to Asitha Fernando.
De Silva said: “Our batting in the first game was disappointing. We’ve addressed what went wrong. We need to bat deep and that didn’t happen last week. Many batters got starts but failed to capitalize. That’s something we must fix. Also, it wasn’t a typical Galle pitch last time but this one looks different.”
Australia skipper Steve Smith expects the wicket to favour spin, unlike the first test when his batters flourished.
Smith said: "It looks like a very dry surface and I think it will spin a lot. We haven’t finalized our XI yet and will make a call on the morning of the game. The last time we toured Sri Lanka the series ended 1-1, but we’re eager to finish this tour on a high by winning both tests. That would be a great achievement for this group. We were excellent in the first game but we know Sri Lanka will come back hard at us, and we’re ready for the challenge.”
Australia is considering handing a test debut to all-rounder Cooper Connolly, who bowls left-arm orthodox spin. Should he make his debut, either off-spinner Todd Murphy or all-rounder Beau Webster is likely to be left out.
Sri Lanka (from): Dimuth Karunaratne, Oshada Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Kusal Mendis (wicketkeeper), Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Nishan Peiris, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Lahiru Udara, Milan Rathnayake, Sonal Dinusha, Pathum Nissanka.
Australia (from): Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (captain), Josh Inglis, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Mitchell Starc, Matt Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy.
Umpires: Adrian Holdstock (SA) & Joel Wilson (WI)
Third umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZ)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZ)
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
The Associated Press
