New Zealand will be having a deja vu moment when they take the field for the second Test against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval on Thursday (August 22). The last time they toured the island nation for a Test series, they were in a similar sort of position – lost the first game in Galle; Sri Lanka chased down a fourth-innings target convincingly and they were trailing 1-0 in the series.
Kane Williamson would want the rest of the script to pan out exactly like it did in 2012 New Zealand went on to win the second Test and draw the series 1-1. It was also a Test where Williamson and Ross Taylor scored hundreds. In fact, the latter was the Player of the Match for his knocks of 142 and 74. The visitors need their two most experienced batsmen to lead the way to not only draw the series but also to get their first points in the Test Championship. All eyes will be on Williamson who ended up with single-digit scores in each innings of a Test for the first time in two years.
The other factor to consider is when the last time New Zealand played at the P Sara Oval, the pace duo of Tim Southee and Trent Boult shared 15 wickets. Generally, the track at the venue offers assistance to all kinds of bowlers, but New Zealand will hope it has a lot more on offer than the one in Galle, which got slower as the game progressed. It might also put them in a dilemma in relation to picking the same combination that they selected for the first Test – two-seamers and three spinners – or add an extra pacer in Neil Wagner.
Sri Lanka has won their last three Tests and two of those have been chasing targets in excess of 250 in the fourth innings. They have found new heroes each time a stiff challenge was thrown at them. If it was Kusal Perera’s once-in-a-lifetime innings in Durban that powered them to a historic win, then Dimuth Karunaratne led from the front with 122 in Galle. Sri Lanka has battled through some very tough situations and winning a series against the number two ranked Test team will not only help them get 60 points in the Test Championship but also boost their morale going forward in the competition.
There were some bold choices made as far as the selection was concerned for the Galle Test. Lahiru Thirimanne was persisted with even though he had not scored a fifty since making his comeback to the Test team, earlier in the year. Niroshan Dickwella’s current form was preferred over Oshada Fernando’s runs in South Africa. Both batsmen repaid the faith by scoring crucial fifties.
Akila Dananjaya, one of the heroes in the Galle Test, has been reported again for a suspect action even after remodeling it, but that should not deter Sri Lanka from picking him. He took over the leadership of the attack in the absence of Dilruwan Perera, and Karunaratne looked up to him whenever he needed wickets in the first Test. Young Lasith Embuldeniya, playing only his third Test, provided the ideal foil for Dananjaya. Sri Lanka would want the duo, along with Dhananjaya de Silva, to continue their good form.
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