Published: Aug 22, 2019, 01:27 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 22, 2019, 04:48 PM (IST)
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 2nd Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at the P Sara Oval, Colombo.
New Zealand arrived in Colombo confident of beating hosts Sri Lanka 2-0 to topple India from the top of the ICC Test rankings, and determined to begin their run at the new ICC World Test Championship on a dominant note.
They went to Galle and battled, but ended up losing the first Test. The day five track in Galle did not turn as sharply as Kane Williamson expected it to, and New Zealand struggled to take wickets as Dimuth Karunaratne scored a superb century to maintain his unbeaten streak as Test captain. Under Karunaratne, Sri Lanka won both Test matches in South Africa earlier this year.
The teams will now play the second and final Test at Colombo’s P Sara Oval from Thursday, with Williamson’s team needing a win to avert a series loss. Seven years ago, New Zealand were beaten by 10 wickets in Galle and arrived at the P Sara Oval in similar scenes and then clinched a famous win. Will history repeat itself?
Sri Lanka likely 11: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), 2 Lahiru Thirimanne, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kusal Perera/Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 8 Suranga Lakmal, 9 Lasith Embuldeniya, 10 Lahiru Kumara, 11 Lakshan Sandakan
New Zealand likely 11: 1 Jeet Raval, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Todd Astle, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Will Somerville, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Ajaz Patel
