The first Test was also Rangana Herath’s international farewell, and it didn’t go too well for the champion left-arm spinner or his team. Herath picked up just three wickets in two innings, and Sri Lanka went down by 211 runs after folding for 203 and 250. Moreover , captain Dinesh Chandimal, who will be out for two weeks because of a grade one muscle tear in his groin.
In his place, the Sri Lankans have Charith Asalanka, the promising 21-year-old batting all-rounder with no international experience.
Whether Asanka gets into the XI remains to be seen, but Suranga Lakmal will definitely be leading the team out in Chandimal’s absence, and he will hope to build on his incredible captaincy record – Sri Lanka have won all three Tests Lakmal has captained them in, twice at home against South Africa and once away in Barbados.
Sri Lanka, will hope for from their star Test opener. Karunaratne didn’t have a good time in Galle, but he must lead the Sri Lankan revival with the bat, along with the likes of Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, and others.
More importantly, their spin trio of Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Jack Leach picked up eight wickets in each Sri Lankan innings – that’s a big reason for confidence for the visitors and something to be wary of for the home team.
Squads
Sri Lanka: Suranga Lakmal (c), Akila Dananjaya, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Malinda Pushpakumara, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan, Roshen Silva, Kaushal Silva
England: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes (wk), Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes
