Published: Jun 17, 2015, 10:13 AM (IST)
Edited: Jun 17, 2015, 10:48 AM (IST)
Sri Lanka and Pakistan begin their three-Test sojourn on Wednesday, the first day of the first Test, at Galle. Mahela Jayawardene retired from Test cricket the last time the two teams were engaged in a Test series, and Kumar Sangakkara is set to retire in the Tests against India after this one. Pakistan will fancy their best chance of defeating Sri Lanka in their own backyard for the first time for quite a while, as they have a solid look to their batting and bowling line-up, as compared to their opponents. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 1st Test, Galle, 1st Day
Saeed Ajmal, the offspinner who was banned by the ICC from bowling due to the bend of his arm beyond legitimate levels, will not feature in Pakistan’s bowling attack despite having come back with a legitimate bowling action. Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah will shoulder the spin responsibilities for them. They will be led by Misbah-ul-Haq, now 40, and now an experienced Test captain, while the hosts will be captained by a relative newcomer to the top job, Angelo Mathews. LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 1st Test, Galle, 1st Day
Rain may play a part in the series as this is the rainy season in Sri Lanka, and it has been raining a fair bit in Galle ahead of the first Test. The other two Tests will take place in Colombo and Pallekele. Sri Lanka won both Tests against Pakistan the last time the two sides played each other in a series, in August last year.
But with changes to both teams, and the relative inexperience of Sri Lanka, the tables may be reversed this time around. Angelo Mathews, Kumar Sangakkara, and to an extent, Rangana Herath, are the fulcrum around which their team now revolves.
Squads:
Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dushmanth Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Nuwan Pradeep, Rangana Herath, Dimuth Karunaratne, Tharindu Kaushal, Suranga Lakmal, Jehan Mubarak, Dilruwan Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Kumar Sangakkara, Kaushal Silva, Kithuruwan Vithanage
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Ehsan Adil, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Shan Masood, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Younis Khan, Zulfiqar Babar
