Sri Lanka
Pakistan
It has been a positive start for Pakistan on their tour to Sri Lanka as they have registered a win in the first Test. The result of the Test series will be decided in the 2nd Test which is scheduled to start on 24th July at Singhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground.
Sri Lanka struggled in the first Test and will be hoping to bounce back in the second fixture. They did build some lethal partnerships but in the end, the result was not in their favour.
Pakistan ended up their 365 days winless streak in the Test format with a win over Sri Lanka. The visitors will be confident enough to win the series as well. The top bookmakers have released the odds for this upcoming Test match already.
Sri LankaPakistanThe hosts won the toss and decided to bat first. The start was slow and the opening lineup lost their wickets easily. It was Angelo Mathews and Dhananjay De Silva who handled the pressure of scoring runs in the first innings. Dhananjay scores 122 off 214 balls at a strike rate of 57.01 and gave a major push to the overall score. Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya picked up 5 and 3 wickets respectively. Dhananjaya again shined in the 2nd inning as he scored 82 off 118 balls and Jayasuriya picked up a 4-wicket haul.
Team management will have concerns over the opening lineup as it has turned out to be a weaker section.
Predicted Lineup: Prabath Jayasuriya, Kasun Rajitha, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, Vishwa Fernando, Dimuth Karunaratne, Ramesh Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Nishan Madushka
The visitors also witnessed a below-average start from their openers. However, it was Saud Shakeel’s double hundred which helped the team to recover from the damage. Shakeel scored 208 off 361 balls at a strike rate of 57.62. Salman Ali Agha also played a cameo of 82 runs in the 1st inning. Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Abrar Ahmed picked up 3 wickets each. In the 2nd inning, Abrar again picked up 3 wickets and Imam-ul-Haq’s half-century helped Pakistan to score a win over Sri Lanka.
Pakistan has their winning combination and they won’t be making any changes in the squad.
Predicted Lineup: Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmad, Agha Salman, Babar Azam, Shan Masood, Nauman Ali, Naseem Shah, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi, Imam-ul-Haq
Sri Lanka gave a tough fight in the first and they are expected not to make things easier for the visitors in the 2nd Test as well. However, Pakistan’s batting has a good depth and their bowlers are in the right form. We predict a win for Pakistan in the 2nd Test as well.
