Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 2nd Test: All You Need To Know

Cricket

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan: Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka in the first Test and now in a position to win the series. Sri Lanka will not like to lost a series at home and will try to draw the series anyhow. In the first test Sri Lanka batted first, Shaheen Afridi did some fiery bowling and Sri Lanka was 54-4. Angelo Matthews and Dhananjaya de Silva later scored 64 and 122 runs respectively to take Sri Lanka to 312. Pakistan also did a terrible start they were 5 wickets down at 101 but Saud Shakeel took things in his hands and scored 208 not out. Pakistan scored 461 in the first innings. Sri Lanka failed again in the 2nd innings to score big runs and were taken out at 279. Pakistan chased the target of 131 with 4 wickets in hand.

The 2nd Test Sri Lanka vs Pakistan will take place on 24th July 2023 at Singhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground, Colombo

Match Details to Note

Match: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 2nd Test

Date: July 24, 2023 (Monday)

Time: 9:30 AM IST

Venue: Singhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground, Colombo

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan

Sri Lanka (Match Odds- 3.00)

Preview

It was disappointing for the home fans to watch Sri Lanka score such little total in the opening innings despite the winning the toss and choosing to bat. They made a comeback with the ball when they took Pakistan’s top 5 wickets at 101 runs. But they could not hold the advantage as Pakistan’s middle batted them out of the trouble. Sri Lanka need to work on their batting order, other than few players like Angelo Matthews and Dhananjaya de Silva others are disappointing the team. Bowlers should hold their patience and keep bowling with the intensity. After the loss the home is running low on confidence but they can surely bounce back. They will be targeting the draw the series by winning the 2nd test.

Full Squad:

Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Nishan Madushka (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lakshitha Manasinghe, Praveen Jayawickrama, Asitha Fernando/Dilshan Madushka, Vishwa Fernando, and Kasun Rajitha.

Players to watch out for:

Dimuth Karunaratne

Dimuth Karunaratne is left handed opening batsman and also the captain of the Sri Lankan national team. He has played 87 matches till date and scored 6573 runs with an average of 41.08. He did failed to impress in the first match but it is expected that he will have his comeback on 24th.

Prabath Jayasuriya

He is a young promising talent for the Sri Lanka bowling order. He is left arm bowler and has joined the national side since just last year. He have played 8 international test matches till now and has managed to take 57 wickets. He will be the bowler to watch out for in the 2nd test.

Possible Playing XI:

Nishan Madushka, Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, and Kasun Rajitha.

Pakistan (Match Odds- 2.65)

Preview

The first test was a relief for Pakistan as they not only won the match but also broke their 365 days winless streak. Saud Shakeel was the player of the match due to his excellent batting. He scored 208 runs not out in the first innings and helped his team when the team was struggling to hold wickets. Salman Ali Agha and Imam-ul-Haq also played their part of the game and helped Pakistan win. Shaheen Shah Afridi the left arm pacer made his comeback in style, he took the wicket of Sri Lanka’s top 3 batsman in just 15 overs span. Pakistan is now at a great form and it will be difficult for Sri Lanka to beat this Pak team.

Full Squad

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi and Shan Masood.

Players to watch out for:

Babar Azam

Babar Azam is a top batsman from the Pakistan national team. He is the caption of the side and is famous for his confident batting style. He has scored 3733 runs in test career playing 48 games in total. He will be the player to watch out in the series.

Shaheen Afridi

Shaheen Afridi made a great test comeback against Sri Lanka. In the last game he achieved his 100 wickets mark. He took the wickets of Sri Lanka’s opening three and thrashed Sri Lanka from scoring big runs. He is under high confidence and will be the player to watch out for.

Possible Playing XI:

Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed, Shan Masood, Noman Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Head to Head

Sri Lanka and Pakistan faced each other 58 times in Test cricket. Pakistan won 22 Test matches whereas Sri Lanka won 17 Test matches and 19 Test matches have ended up in a draw.

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Toss Prediction

The team who wins the toss first will opt to bat first. Though the plan failed in the first test but teams will likely to stick to it.

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan pitch Report

The pitch is good for batting in the first innings and the average score is 340. Runs above 200 is good target in this field. There is a possibility of rain in the first 3 days of the match.

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Match Prediction

Sri Lanka will be searching their victory in the second test to end the series in a draw. But that will not be easy as Pakistan is running with great confidence, every player is giving is their best- The middle order batsmen are stepping up to score and bowlers are in tremendous form. Pakistan is expected to win the 2nd test also and win the series 2-0.

Pakistan is predicted to win the game with an odds of 2.65.