Home conditions, one up in the series, WTC final in view, and a venue that has been particularly cruel to their opponent. Sri Lanka have everything they need to create the perfect recipe for skipping the line to get a ticket to the WTC final by making New Zealand leave the Island empty handed. But one defeat is what will take for all their hopes to come crashing to the ground.
New Zealand have never won a Test game at Galle. Although they were very near getting over the line in the first Test match, it is never easy to outdo Sri Lanka’s bowling at Galle on the last day of a red-ball game. However, if the Kiwis hope to make their way to their second WTC final, their approach needs more killer instinct.
Both teams, as of now, occupy the third and fourth positions on the WTC table, with Sri Lanka ahead of the visitors by one victory. But the Kiwis have some tough games coming up with India and England waiting to meet them in the next few months. The Islanders also have to get as much as they can from this game since they don’t have much Test cricket left after this series ends.
Team Overview:
Sri Lanka have axed two players from the squad, showing they are up to some serious business. Milan Rathnayake, who was quite decent against England recently, has been added to the playing XI in place of Lahiru Kumara. The uncapped Nishan Peiris was added to the squad after Vishwa Fernando was ruled out of the series following his injury. All of a sudden, he found himself in the playing XI too in place of Ramesh Mendis. But that was not unexpected, Dhananjaya De Silva, Sri Lanka’s captain, was not especially happy with Mendis’ performance during the opening Test as he expressed in the post-match ceremony. Pathum Nissanka missed out on scoring big in both innings, which is something the hosts would not want to experience again in the second game.
New Zealand were in the hunt for the most of the game. Even on the last day, all they needed was a couple of wickets to conquer the Galle Fort. The visitors, although, did not have the quality of tweakers Sri Lanka possess, but their spinning lot did fairly well for a team that is used to contrasting conditions. William O’Rourke was a class apart on a pitch that was not too friendly for bowlers of his type. Rachin Ravindra, too, showed what he is built from after scoring a fourth-innings 92 runs on a pitch that is stuff for nightmares for batters generally. Devon Conway could not get his groove back. It has been ten innings since the last time he crossed 50 runs. Overall, the team looks pretty solid, and with the experience of one match that they have in these conditions, this might be their chance to turn things in their favor and square the series.
Head-to-Head Matches:
New Zealand have outdone Sri Lankan with 18 wins in the 39 Test matches both have played. Sri Lanka managed to get over the line in 10 contests. As many as 11 games ended without any result, something both teams would hope does not happen this time.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Galle is synonymous with rank-turner. Without any doubt, the pitch will openly give whatever it has to that species of bowlers. Fast bowlers too can use the cracks in the pitch to seam the ball. It will grow increasingly difficult to score as the game progresses, so the batters will need to make hay while the sun shines. Talking about the sun, it will disappear for small intervals to make way for rain clouds during the game.
Where to Watch:
You can tune in to the following to watch the second Test match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka:
New Zealand: Sky Sports
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka Cricket YouTube Channel
India: Sony Sports Network
England: TNT Sports, Discovery+ App (Live streaming)
Pakistan: Tapmad
