SL vs IRE Match Preview
The Irish team is pretty much likely to field the same playing eleven in this game that played against Bangladesh in the one-off test match earlier this month. There will be some notable names missing from the Ireland team such as George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Fionn Hand, Paul Stirling, and Thomas Mayes. One good news for the Irish management is that Paul Stirling will be available for national duties in the second test match. This Ireland outfit will be led by Andrew Balbirnie in this series.
The wicket-keeping duties for Ireland will be in the hands of Lorcan Tucker who is also expected to contribute with the bat as well. The Ireland inning will be opened by Murray Commins together with James McCollum. The middle order for the Irish team will be in the hands of batters such as Harry Tector, Peter Moor, Murray Commins, Lorcan Tucker, and Andy Balbirnie. These batters will be expected to do the bulk of run-getting in this game. The Irish bowling department will be in the hands of Mark Adair, Graham Hume, Benjamin White, and Andy McBrine.
The Sri Lankan team although much superior to the Ireland outfit, is not going into this game with a lot of confidence. They are fresh from a 2-0 mauling at the hands of the Kiwis recently away from home. The Sri Lankan management has decided to drop Niroshan Dickwella from the squad for the test matches. He will be replaced by the spinner Lasith Embuldeniya. They have also decided to include the new leg spinner Dushan Hemantha in the team. This Sri Lankan team will be led by Dimuth Karunaratne in this series.
One of the senior players on the Sri Lankan side is Angelo Matthews. He has been the backbone of the Sri Lankan side in recent times. It is expected that Sri Lanka will dominate this series as they are playing at home. With the additional experience of Angelo Matthews being available, they will be keen to have a go at the Irishmen. The Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has been the pillar of strength for the Lankan outfits in test matches. His batting has been responsible for providing several starts to their innings.
Weather Report
We will get temperatures of close to 32 degrees during the test match. The skies are likely to remain clear for the first 2-3 days of the test. You can expect winds in the region of 13 km/hr and relative humidity is likely to be close to 85% during the game. We might get some cloud cover during the last two days of the game.
Pitch Report
It has been a while since any team decided to bowl first after winning the toss in Galle. It is still unclear how this track will behave for this game on the first day morning. None of the sides is likely to gamble and take to the field first after winning the toss. The Sri Lankan team boasts of quality spinners and so will be keen to bowl last on this track.
Notable stats
Dimuth Karunaratne has a good batting record in domestic test matches.
Karunaratne has scored in the excess of 6000 runs in test cricket for Sri Lanka. In the 67 innings, he played in Lanka, he scored 3136 runs at an average of 48.24.
Angelo Matthews has a great record in test matches within Sri Lanka.
Angelo Matthews has played 99 test innings in Sri Lanka scoring 3640 runs at an average of 43.33. He also has a good overall record in test matches having scored more than 7000 runs in tests.
Team News
There are unlikely to be too many changes to the Sri Lankan team despite a series loss against New Zealand. Ireland is also likely to field a side that will have the same names that played against Bangladesh.
SL vs IRE Probable 11
SL Playing 11
- Sadeera Samarawickrama
- Dimuth Karunaratne (C)
- Kusal Mendis
- Angelo Mathews
- Dinesh Chandimal
- Dhananjaya de Silva
- Nishan Madushka (Wk)
- Ramesh Mendis
- Prabath Jayasuriya
- Lasith Embuldeniya
- Asitha Fernando
IRE Playing 11
- James McCollum
- Murray Commins
- Andy Balbirnie (C)
- Harry Tector
- Curtis Campher
- Peter Moor
- Lorcan Tucker (Wk)
- Andy McBrine
- Mark Adair
- Graham Hume
- Ben White
Dream11 Prediction
Sri Lanka starts as clear favorites to win this game and take an early lead in the series. The Sri Lankan team is not only playing at home, most of the players are well aware of the conditions on offer. Ireland, on the other hand, does not play too much cricket and it will be tough for them to even salvage a draw in this game let alone win it. We will bet with Sri Lanka to win this match.
Top Picks
Dimuth Karunaratne: Dimuth Karunaratne will be leading the Sri Lankan charge in this test. He has scored 6230 runs in test matches with an average of 39.93.
Angelo Matthews: Angelo Matthews was one of the top all-rounders in the world in this format of the game. He still is a force to reckon with and has scored 7118 runs with an average of 45.05 in test matches.
Andy McBrine: This Irish all-rounder has done well in test matches for Ireland picking up 10 wickets in the 3 test matches he has played for Ireland.
Andrew Balbirnie: Andrew Balbirnie is one of the leading batters for Ireland. He has scored a couple of fifties in his short career in test matches already.
SL vs IRE Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: L Tucker
Batters: A Matthews, D Chandimal, D Karunaratne, A Balbirnie
All-rounders: D de Silva (C), A McBrine (VC), C Campher
Bowlers: M Adair, P Jayasuriya, L Embuldeniya
