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.
With their backs against the walls, the hosts will be looking to save face and put up a better performance after going down by an innings in the opening game.
Ahead of the second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia, here are our match preview and predictions.
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After electing to bat first 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, who 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 102 as Australia racked up 654/6 in their first innings, effectively ending the hosts’ chances of winning the game.
With the ball, on a turning track in Galle, it was Matthew Kuhnemann, having recovered just days before the first Test from a thumb surgery, who starred with a nine-wicket haul in the game, while the wily veteran 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.
Sri Lanka were already on the back foot after conceding 654 in the first innings. Barring a fighting 72 from Dinesh Chandimal, the hosts had no answer to Kuhnemann and Lyon as they were bundled out for 165 in the first innings. The hosts put up a slightly 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 and lost 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 the bowlers down. The twin-spinning of Prabath Jayasuriya and Jeffrey Vandersay will 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, there weren’t many positives, though there is plenty of experience in the Lankan batting order to be able to survive at home conditions. Former captain Dimuth Karunaratne, who has announced that the second Test is set to be his final, would want to wrap up 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 to be the chief wreckers once again. We back Australia 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
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