Hosts Sri Lanka will look to salvage some of their lost pride and compete against the visiting Indian side once the 2nd Test begins from Thursday at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. They were thoroughly outplayed in all 3 departments of the game in the opening Test at Galle and they have to execute something dramatic to harbour any hopes of making a turnaround in the 3 match series.
Left-hander Lahiru Thirimane who has been out of the national team for quite a long time has made a return to the squad for the 2nd Test in the absence of Asela Gunaratne who injured his fingers while fielding on the 1st day of the opening Test. The hosts are likely to bring back Dhanajaya de Silva or Thirimane in Gunaratne’s absence. Full-time captain Dinesh Chandimal is also expected to make a return at the expense of Danushka Gunathilaka.
So with the 2nd Test set to begin in a day’s time let us have a look at Sri Lanka’s Predicted XI
Upul Tharanga
The Southpaw looked in good touch during the opening Test at Galle and struck a fluent half-century in less than run a ball but was dismissed in an unfortunate manner when his bat popped up after it had crossed the line and Wriddhiman Saha whipped of the bail at the correct time to send the southpaw back to the pavilion. He will definitely look to give the hosts a defining start to their innings.
Dimuth Karunaratne
The southpaw scored a hard fought 97 in the 2nd innings of the opening Test and defied the Indian bowlers for a considerable amount of time. He struck some delightful shots during his well-decorated innings but in an attempt to push for a century Karunaratne inside edge a straight delivery from Ravichandran Ashwin straight on to his stumps.
Kusal Mendis
The talented young middle order batsman didn’t do anything significant in the opening Test and was dismissed quite cheaply in both the innings but given his potential and ability to perform at crucial stages, Mendis will definitely be a part of the Playing XI who will be taking the field in Colombo from Thursday.
Angelo Mathews
The former captain scored a fluent half-century in the 1st innings of the previous test but gave away his wicket in a weirdest of manners in the 2nd innings. Given the fact that Mathews is the most experienced batsman in the squad, such a reckless shot at a crucial juncture was just not acceptable from a player of Mathews’ stature.
Dinesh Chandimal (captain)
The current captain of the Test team is expected to back in the playing XI after recovering from pneumonia. He played one of the greatest counter attacking innings during India’s last tour to Sri Lanka which saw the Sri Lankans win the opening Test of India’s previous tour from a hopeless situation. Chandimal has to produce something magical to keep Sri Lanka in the series.
Dhananjaya de Silva
The talented right-hander didn’t get an opportunity to play in the opening Test but given Sri Lanka’s condition now he might tempt the management to play him in the 2nd Test at the expense of Asela Gunaratne. De Silva hasn’t been consistent enough at the highest level but definitely has the temperament to make his presence felt especially in the longest format.
Niroshan Dickwella (Wicket-Keeper)
The hard-hitting southpaw was tidy behind the stumps in the opening Test and struck a quickfire half-century in the 2nd innings when Sri Lanka’s back was against the wall. He played some extravagant shots which kept the Indians at bay for a considerable amount of time. With the hitting abilities he possesses, he might go on to become a trump card for the Sri Lankan team in the near future.
Dilruwan Perera
The off-spinner made his presence felt in the opening Test but not with the ball but with the bat in hand. Dilruwan who struck a 95 in his debut looked in ominous touch during his unbeaten knock of 92 in the 1st innings and took the attack to the Indian spinners Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. He deposited the duo over the park on quite a few occasions and found the gaps to perfection. With the ball in hand, he bagged a couple of wickets but wasn’t that effective and lacked penetration.
Rangana Herath
Herath who captained the hosts in the opening Test is expected to be fit for the 2nd Test after an injury forced him to miss batting during Sri Lanka’s 2nd innings in the opening Test. He wasn’t effective with the ball as Shikhar Dhawan smashed the spinner all around Galle. In the 2nd innings too, he hardly made his presence felt and was belted for runs by Kohli and Co.
Nuwan Pradeep
Pradeep was the only stand out bowler in the opening Test as far as Sri Lanka is concerned. The pacer troubled the star-studded Indian batsmen on quite a few occasions but his partners were not able to carry on his good work. He bagged 6 wickets in the 1st innings but India still managed to post 600. In the 2nd innings, Pradeep was smashed for runs and conceded 63 runs without taking any wickets.
Lahiru Kumara
He was wayward in his opening spell and sprayed the ball all around the wicket. With Shikhar Dhawan in the crease, fireworks can be expected with loose deliveries and it was just what the doctor had ordered the southpaw to get back into some run scoring form in the longest format. He eventually managed to bag 3 wickets in the 1st innings but much after India had already made a strong base for a big 1st innings total.