SRI LANKA VS PAKISTAN MATCH DETAILS:

Match: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 1st Test, Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka, 2022
Date and Time: July 16, 2022, Saturday, 10:00 AM IST
Venue: Galle International Stadium, Galle

Sri Lanka is all set to host Pakistan for a two-match Test series, which will be a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23. The first Test will be played at the Galle International Stadium from July 16-20 while the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will host the second Test from July 24-28.

Sri Lanka recently hosted Australia in a multi-format series, which included a two-match Test series. The Lankan side was outplayed in the first Test but they bounced back to win the final Test and draw the series level.

Dimuth Karunaratne will continue to lead the Lankan side. They were brilliant in the second Test, with the spinners stepping up for them. Experienced campaigner Dinesh Chandimal scored a fantastic double ton to set the tone for them. They will look to carry forward the winning momentum in the upcoming series against Pakistan.

Pakistan’s last Test series, meanwhile, was against Australia at home. The first two games of the series ended in a draw but the Australian side displayed a fantastic performance in the final game to win the series.

Pakistan has played a warm-up game against the Sri Lanka Cricket XI since arriving in the island nation. The warm-up match ended in a draw.

Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafique, and Agha Salman scored the fifties for them. The bowlers bowled beautifully and will be eager to carry forward their form in the Test series against Sri Lanka. They will have to be on their toes while facing Sri Lanka on the Lankan shores.

SRI LANKA PREVIEW

However, the management will be slightly concerned with the overall performance of the spinners in particular in Galle against the Kangaroos where the conditions were extremely favorable for the slow bowlers.

Therefore, they will be hoping that the home team’s spin department will produce a much better display against the Green Caps.

The batting department looks extremely solid on paper in the presence of captain Dimuth Karunaratne, exciting top-order batter Pathum Nissanka, veteran all-rounder Angelo

Mathews, veteran Dinesh Chandimal, wicketkeeper-batter Niroshan Dickwella, and experienced Dhananjaya de Silva.

In terms of the bowling department, the onus will be on the likes of Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Kasun Rajitha, and Jeffrey Vandersay to claim timely breakthroughs.

PAKISTAN PREVIEW

The series is extremely important for the Green Caps as well as a 1-0 or 2-0 win would take them to the third spot in the ICC WTC rankings. Therefore, the management will be hoping that the players will produce better performance than they did in their previous outing.

In the batting department, the visitors will be relying on the likes of captain Babar Azam, in-form opening duo of Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, veterans Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, and star wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan to score the bulk of the runs and give the bowlers something to bowl with.

In terms of the bowling department, the onus will be on the likes of pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, and Naseem Shah along with the spin trio of Yasir Shah, Nauman Ali, and Mohammad Nawaz to dismantle the home team’s batting lineup.

SRI LANKA VS PAKISTAN PITCH REPORT

The pitch at the Galle International Stadium is dry. The spinners will continue to play a vital role while bowling on this surface as the ball tends to grip off the surface. The batters will have to be on their toes while batting on this surface. Once set, they can start playing their strokes freely.

SRI LANKA VS PAKISTAN WEATHER FORECAST

The temperature in Galle on the opening day of the Test is expected to hover between 26 and 30 degrees Celsius. The conditions will stay ideal for a game of cricket over the next five days.

SRI LANKA VS PAKISTAN IS PROBABLE XI

SRI LANKA

PROBABLE XI

Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Mahesh Theekshana/Jeffrey Vandersay, Prabath Jayasuriya, Kasun Rajitha

PAKISTAN

PROBABLE XI

Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Nauman Ali, Shaheen Afridi

SRI LANKA VS PAKISTAN HEAD-TO-HEAD

Pakistan leads the head-to-head against Sri Lanka in Test cricket, winning 20 of the 55 previous meetings between the teams. Lanka, meanwhile, has 16 victories while 19 games have ended in draws.

The last five Tests between Sri Lanka and Pakistan have seen both sides pick up two wins each and play out a draw.

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the last Test match between the teams in 2019, with a 174-run knock from Abid Ali laying the foundation for a 263-run victory.

SL VS PAK MATCH TOSS PREDICTION

Australia won the toss, chose to bat, posted 364 in their first innings, yet still lost by an innings last week in Galle. However, batting first and bowling last is the preferred approach and we expect both skippers to want to bat first,

SRI LANKA VS PAKISTAN MATCH PREDICTION

Both sides will come out hard against each other to get an early lead in the series. Fans can expect an intense battle between the bat and the ball.

Sri Lanka will, however, be more confident of the two being the hosts after having beaten Australia in their last Test.

Prediction: Sri Lanka to win this encounter.