England’s victory in the first Test of the series against Sri Lanka ended their 13-match winless streak away from home, but now they will be eager to close out the series with their opponents on the ropes.
Sri Lanka have lost the psychological edge they held over England – and they face an uphill battle to get back into the contest.
Sri Lanka vs England | 14 – 18 November | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
To Win Match
Sri Lanka 2/1
Draw 23/10
England 12/10
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka not only lost the first Test of the series but also lost skipper Dinesh Chandimal through injury. Bizarrely, though, the team has done very well when their captain has been absent in recent times, beating the West Indies in the third Test of their Caribbean tour before putting away the Proteas at home.
The hosts will be hoping for more turn in Pallekele but will need to do better with bat as well. Sri Lanka will look back at the first Test and isolate their first innings as the biggest issue. Each of the top five batsman got set, but only Angelo Mathews could get to 50 – and even he could not convert that into three figures.
Veteran spinner Rangana Herath called time on his international career after the Galle Test. He should be replaced both in the short and long-term by left-arm wrist spinner Lakshan Sandakan. Sandakan has shown glimpses of brilliance. He has also been inconsistent, but an extended run in the team should do him the world of good.
Sri Lanka were off the pace almost from the word ‘go’ in Galle – and need to wrestle momentum from England early in the second Test to stay alive in the series.
The weather will be a constant threat to the series because of the monsoon season.
England
The victory in Galle was a watershed moment for England abroad, giving the team their first Test win away from home under the leadership of Joe Root, but the team still have some work to do to clinch the series.
England face a selection conundrum with Jonny Bairstow expected to be fit for the second Test, His understudy Ben Foakes was man of the match in the first Test, though, which has led to calls for the former to play as a specialist batsman.
It is clear that England will abandon the idea of batting Moeen Ali at number three after a pair of failures in Galle. Moeen’s place in the XI should be safe after he bagged eight wickets in the first Test and was the pick of the England bowlers.
The team will likely persist in playing three spinners – Moeen, Adil Rashid and Jack Leach – with pace-bowling all-rounders Sam Curran and Ben Stokes providing more than enough back-up to Jimmy Anderson in the first Test. The quick men bowled less than a third of the overs sent down in Galle – and that pattern should persist in Kandy.
Verdict: England 12/10
Sri Lanka are very much a confidence side – and England may have already done enough to burst their bubble and put them on the back foot heading into the second Test.
