Sri Lanka have announced their playing XI for the second Test against England at Lord’s starting on 28 August. They lost the first Test in Manchester.
Kusal Mendis was ruled out for the second Test at Lord’s along with Vishwa Fernando. Pathum Nissanka and Lahiru Kumara have been included in the playing XI.
The rest of the squad remains the same, with Sri Lanka opting to go with two specialist pacers and a spinner with Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis as backup bowling options.
Sri Lanka lost the first Test against England after failing to defend 205 in the second innings. Their bowlers kept them in the game throughout the contest, bowling England out for 358 in the first innings and putting them in a spot of bother in the second innings as well.
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Meanwhile, going into the second Test, Sri Lanka decided to drop Kusal Mendia from the XI and include Nishan Madushka. He is a young goalkeeper and has good technique. On the other hand, Lahiru Kumara replaced Vishwa Fernando in the XI as the left-arm pacer was replaced by a right-arm pacer. Meanwhile, Dinesh Chamdinal has recovered from a thumb injury to retain his place in the playing XI.
Lord’s provides one of the best batting conditions for the visiting team and therefore Sri Lanka should try to make the most of it. The pitch even has pace and bounce which allows batsmen to score more runs if they are prepared to overcome the initial threat of the opposition fielders.
Going into the second Test, Sri Lanka are fifth in the WTC table and desperately need points to move up the points table. They last won a Test match against Bangladesh in April and were looking for a win to stay relevant in the race to the finals.
This will be Sri Lanka’s ninth Test match at Lord’s, the most at any venue after Zimbabwe’s Harare. They have played at least as many Tests at six homes, with SSC in Colombo number one at 45. Interestingly, Sri Lanka have never won a Test match at Lord’s and there is a chance to change the script in the second Test. .
Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva has spoken highly of Pathum Nissanka, who has been included in the second Test in place of Kusal Mendis. Nissanka has been Sri Lanka’s top run-scorer in white-ball cricket since his international debut and he is now looking forward to translating that form into red-ball cricket.
“Overall, Pathum is the best batsman in the country right now. He has a good mindset and a good technique. If we can get him in the team, that’s great. I’ve been talking about it for a while now. I think he will adapt to any format.” , – De Silva said in Nissanka.
Sri Lanka playing XI for Lord’s Test
Dimut Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya De Silva (C), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Milan Rathnayake
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