SL vs IRE Match Preview
Sri Lankans won the toss in the first game and decided to bat first. Several Sri Lankan batters hit hundreds as they put on a massive total on the board. Dimuth Karunaratne was the top run-getter for Sri Lanka with 179 runs. Kusal Mendis scored 140 runs and Dinesh Chandimal also scored 102 runs not out to help the hosts put together a huge total of 591 on the board for the loss of 6 wickets before they declared their inning. Curtis Campher was the most successful bowler for Ireland picking up 2 wickets.
The Sri Lankan bowlers were all over Ireland in their first innings as they were bundled out for 143 runs. Prabath Jayasuriya spun the Ireland side to a collapse as he went on to pick up a 7-wicket haul. Sri Lankans enforced a follow-on after they picked the first innings lead of 448 runs. Harry Tector was the leading scorer for Ireland with 42 runs. But Ireland managed just a paltry total of 168 in their second inning to record a win by a margin of an inning and 280 runs. Ramesh Mendis was the most successful bowler for Sri Lanka in their second inning picking up 4 wickets.
Jayasuriya was in action in the Ireland second inning as well, picking up 3 wickets. This first test was a solid all-around performance from the Sri Lankans. They will be looking for a repeat performance in the second test as well. Ireland will have to display temperament and composure while facing the Sri Lankan spinners in this test to have any hopes of leveling the series. After Sri Lanka scored a huge total of 591 runs, the Irishmen were unable to display any semblance of a good reply.
Irishmen lost 20 wickets in the game for just 311 runs. There were just a couple of fifty-run partnerships in their two innings and Harry Tector was a part of both of them. As many as four Sri Lankan batters hit hundreds while the top score recorded by an Irish batter was 45 runs from Lorcan Tucker. The 3rd day of the test match started with Ireland already in trouble at 117 for 7. They lost the remaining 3 wickets to get bowled out for 143 runs. There was a good partnership between Curtis Campher and Harry Tector for 6 wickets that scored 60 runs. But after this bit of resistance was broken, it was the same story in the second inning as well.
Weather Report
You can expect temperatures in the region of 32 degrees during this second test at Galle. There is a good chance of getting thunderstorms during the test match and the entire test match is likely to be in danger of weather interruptions. Seamers may enjoy these conditions more than spinners, especially in the earlier portion of the innings.
Pitch Report
The Galle International Stadium is the venue for this game. This ground has always offered help to the batters and the spin bowlers. This fact was pretty much clear in the first game of the series. Batters are likely to enjoy the conditions on the first 3 days of the game with plenty of room for stroke play. Spinners will get a lot of purchase from the wicket on days 4 and 5. If we get overcast conditions during the test the fast bowlers can think about extracting lateral movement from the surface, especially in the morning sessions.
Notable stats
Prabath Jayasuriya has a terrific bowling average in the series.
As a result of the 10-wicket haul in the first test, Prabath Jayasuriya has an incredible average of 10.80 for the series.
Dimuth Karunaratne leads the batting charge for Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka left-handed batter Dimuth Karunaratne scored 179 runs in the first inning of the first test. This is the highest average for either team in the series.
Team News
Many Irish players are missing from the test side. But apart from that, there do seem to be any injury updates available for this game.
SL vs IRE Probable 11
SL Playing 11
- Dimuth Karunaratne (C)
- Nishan Madushka
- Kusal Mendis
- Angelo Mathews
- Dinesh Chandimal
- Dhananjaya de Silva
- Sadeera Samarawickrama (Wk)
- Prabath Jayasuriya
- Ramesh Mendis
- Asitha Fernando
- Vishwa Fernando
IRE Playing 11
- James McCollum
- Murray Commins
- Andrew Balbirnie (C)
- Harry Tector
- Curtis Campher
- Peter Moor
- Lorcan Tucker (Wk)
- George Dockrell
- Andy McBrine
- Mark Adair
- Benjamin White
Dream11 Prediction
The Irish outfit is a novice to the test cricket scenario. They have already received a taste of this demanding test match circuit on their tour of Bangladesh and in the initial part of the Sri Lanka tour. The first test match was all Sri Lanka in all departments of the game. The Ireland batting will have to play out of their skins and hope for some complacency from the Ireland team to do well in this game. All-in-all we expect Sri Lanka to win this test and wrap up the series 2-0.
Top Picks
Prabhat Jayasuriya: Prabath Jayasuriya was the player of the match in the first test with a haul of 10 wickets. He will be looking to inflict more pain on Ireland batters in the second test as well.
Dimuth Karunaratne: Dimuth Karunaratne was in top form in the first test against Ireland. The southpaw scored 179 runs in the only inning he played. You can bet on him to score big runs again in the second test near the top order.
Kusal Mendis: Kusal Mendis was another centurion in the first test scoring 140 runs for his side. You can bet on him to score more runs in the second test.
Harry Tector: Harry Tector was the only Irish batter that looked like scoring runs in both Irish innings. He can be expected to continue the good work in this game as well.
SL vs IRE Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: K Mendis (VC), L Tucker
Batters: D Chandimal, G Dockrell, D Karunaratne (C), H Tector
All-rounders: R Mendis, A McBrine, C Campher
Bowlers: V Fernando, P Jayasuriya
