Sri Lanka vs Australia 2nd Test 2025 | Preview and Predictions

Can hosts Sri Lanka salvage the series?

After handing the hosts a hammering in the opening Test, Australia will be looking to clean up the series with another win as they face Sri Lanka in the second Test of their Sri Lankan tour. With their backs against the walls, the hosts will be looking to save face and put up a better showing after going down by an innings in the opening game.

Ahead of the second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia, here’s our match preview and predictions.

Sri Lanka vs Australia 2nd Test | Australia tour of Sri Lanka 2025 | 10:00 IST, February 6, 2025

After electing to bat in the first Test, Travis Head gave the visitors a flying start with his 57(40) before Usman Khawaja dug in with stand-in captain Steve Smith as Smith got to a classy 141 while Khawaja fought on to hit 232. The misery for the Sri Lanka bowlers didn’t stop there as Josh Inglis on debut hit a 102 as Australia racked up 654/6 in their first innings which ended the hosts’ chances of winning the game. 

With the ball, on a turning track in Galle, it was Matthew Kuhnemann, who recovered just days before the first Test from a thumb surgery, picking up a nine-wicket haul in the game, while the wily old Nathan Lyon ended the Test with seven wickets. Mitchell Starc made the ball talk early on as well, giving the Australians crucial breakthroughs early on in both innings. 

For the hosts, Sri Lanka were already on the back foot after conceding 654 in the first innings and barring a fighting 72 from Dinesh Chandimal, the hosts had no answer to Kuhnemann and Lyon as they were bundled out for 165. The hosts put up a better batting performance after being made to follow on as their veterans stepped up, with Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis getting starts but they failed to build on it as they ended up going down by an innings and 242 runs.

The positives the hosts can take with the ball would be the numerous chances they created, although the fielders let down the bowlers. The spin twins of Prabath Jayasuriya and Jeffrey Vandersay would be key once again for the hosts in the second Test. With the bat, barring Chandimal’s 72 in the first innings and Jeffrey Vandersay’s 53 in the second innings, there’s not much the hosts would take positively but there is plenty of experience in the Sri Lanka batting order to be able to survive at home conditions. Former captain Dimuth Karunaratne, who has announced that the second Test would be his final Test match, would want to wrap out his career with a strong performance, especially given the Sri Lankan openers failed in both innings.

Playing once again in Galle, count on a host of runs and the spinners set to be the chief wreckers with visitors Australia as favourites to close out the red-ball series with another win. 

Fantasy XI: Dimuth Karunaratne, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Angleo Mathews, Josh Inglis, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann

Venue: Galle

Winners Prediction: Australia