Sri Lanka look to ride on hot streak to stay in the fray for WTC final
Written by I Dig Sports
Big picture - Teams hope to keep WTC final chances alive
Sri Lanka, however, will be brimming with good vibes. They are on a bit of a hot streak under interim coach Sanath Jayasuriya. There was one disastrous Test at Lord's, but before that, they had competed in Manchester, and won an ODI series against India for the first time since the late 1990s.
Now, they have notched up two consecutive Test victories for the second time this year, having also defeated Bangladesh twice (away from home, no less) earlier in the year. Their bowlers have been the heart of this success, but the batters have found ways to contribute too.
Another win at Galle will put their WTC percentage points at 56 - not very far away from Australia (62.5), who are second on that table at the moment.
Form guide - NZ on a losing streak
Sri Lanka WWLLW (completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand LLLWW
In the spotlight - Dinesh Chandimal and Kane Williamson
Chandimal has, however, made a strong start in his new role, producing a vital 61 in the second innings of the first Test. Dimuth Karunaratne, his partner for much of that knock, praised Chandimal for his positivity at the crease. It's not often that batters with 15 hundreds on their record agree to move for less-established players. More good scores at No. 3, at a venue he generally likes, may put him in a better frame of mind for challenges to come.
Pitch and conditions
It's Galle. Expect another rank turner. But also, given the evidence of the first Test, expect O'Rourke, Southee and Asitha Fernando to dig up the pitch on one side, creating big footmarks outside the left-hand batters' off stump (or right-hand batters' leg stump) on either side of the pitch as the game wears on.
And it's southern Sri Lanka in September. Expect short, sharp showers.
Team news - Rathnayake and Peiris come into Sri Lanka XI
Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karuanaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kusal Mendis (wk), 8 Milan Rathnayake, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Nishan Peiris, 11 Asitha Fernando
New Zealand (possible): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Mitchell Santner/Michael Bracewell, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Ajaz Patel, 11 Will O'Rourke
Stats and trivia
- Two of Ajaz Patel's five career five-wicket hauls have come in Galle. He averages 22.35 at the venue.
- Roy Dias was the fastest Sri Lanka batter to 1000 Test runs, getting there in 23 innings. Kamindu has 822 runs from 12 knocks so far.
- Prabath Jayasuriya has an outside shot of becoming the equal-fastest to 100 Test wickets in the game's history, if he gets 12 wickets in this match. The only bowler to get there in 16 matches was George Lohmann, who achieved the feat way back in 1896. Of Jayasuriya's 88 wickets, 62 have come in Galle.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf
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