After back-to-back losses, Sri Lanka will be hoping to end their tour of England with at least one win as they head into the third and final Test match at The Oval.
Ahead of the third Test between England and Sri Lanka, here are our preview and predictions.
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England vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test | Sri Lanka tour of England 2024 | 15:30 IST, 6 September 2024
Even though Sri Lanka showed some fight in the opening Test, which saw captain Dhananjaya de Silva step up with the bat along with Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Chandimal, and Kamindu Mendis, they just couldn’t get past Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes, who helped England to five-wicket win.
The second Test was the Joe Root show at the iconic Lord’s, where the 33-year-old went on to become England’s leading run-scorer in Tests. With able support from Gus Atikinson, who shone with both bat and ball, Sri Lanka suffered a massive 190-run defeat.
For England, Smith and Root have done the bulk of the scoring so far, and while the Three Lions will hope to see them continue doing the same, they’ll also want their stand-in captain, Ollie Pope, to overcome his rough patch. The likes of Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, and Dan Lawrence, meanwhile, have all gotten decent starts but failed to capitalise on them.
On the bowling front, England have had their veteran Chris Woakes do wonders with both the new and old balls. With Mark Wood out injured, Woakes has received solid support from the young Gus Atkinson and Matthew Potts. For the final Test, England will also be debuting the left-arm pacer Josh Hull.
For the visitors, Asitha Fernando has been the shining star with the ball as he leads the wickets tally in the series with 14. Prabath Jayasuria’s left-arm spin has netted him eight wickets, but apart from these two, no one has really threatened the English batters. The Lankans had England at 216/6 in the second Test at one point before Root and Atkinson put up a 92-run partnership to take the game away from them.
With the Oval pitch known to provide assistance to the pacers, the pace-bowling lineup of the two teams will be looking forward to having a proper go at the strip, with England’s 6’7″ debutant set to have all eyes on himself.
England’s current form and firepower make them the clear favourites for this Test, and we have them picking up another win to complete the whitewash.
Fantasy XI: Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Matthews, Chris Woakes, Prabath Jayasuriya, Gus Atkinson
Venue: The Oval, London
Winners Prediction: England
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