Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 2023, 1st Test: Records and Players Milestones to Watch

Both Pakistan (PAK) and Sri Lanka (SL) will kick-start their WTC 2023-25 battle in a two-match Test Series starting from 16^th July 2023 at Galle International Stadium, Galle. Home team Sri Lanka will be coming into the contest after dominating in World Cup Qualifier with all-round brilliant performance, eventually qualifying for the World Cup 2023.

Lakshitha Manasinghe has earned a maiden call-up in the Test Squad, while Dilshan Madushanka, after his recent performance has got a maiden call-up too in the Test Squad in place of Asitha Fernando who misses out due to dengue. Dimuth Karunaratne holds the key for Sri Lanka in Test against Pakistan, as he has so far aggregated 1040 runs in 23 innings at an average of 47.27, while Angelo Mathews has been impressive too against Pakistan in Tests with an aggregate of 1458 runs in 38 innings at an average of 50.27. In the bowling department, Prabath Jayasuriya was brilliant in the last series against Pakistan, picking up 17 wickets in 4 innings. 

In the recently concluded tour against Ireland, both Kusal Mendis and Nishan Madushka registered their maiden double centuries. Meanwhile the visitors, Pakistan will be coming into the series after a brilliant performance in the last series against New Zealand in ODIs but failed to make an impact in Tests, as they ended the WTC 2021-23 cycle with zero home wins. Sarfaraz Ahmed was brilliant in his comeback Test Series against New Zealand. He was awarded player of the series for his performance of 335 runs in four innings averaging 83.75.

Pakistan have named a strong squad for the upcoming series led by Babar Azam. Aamer Jamal and Mohammad Huraira have earned their maiden call-up for the Test squad. Babar Azam holds a very good record against Lanka with an aggregate of 572 runs in 11 innings at an average of 63.55, while Sarfaraz Ahmed is the key player against Lanka with magnificent records in Sri Lanka with an aggregate of 469 runs in 8 innings at an average of 78.16.

In the bowling department, left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi who co-incidentally played his last Test against Sri Lanka at Galle in July 2022, has made a return to the Test team and it’s a concern for the Sri Lanka team because Afridi has a good bowling records against them, with 12 wickets in 5 innings. Notably, Pakistan and Sri Lanka last faced each other in a Test series in 2022 which ended in a 1-1 draw. Both teams will look to start the WTC 2023-25 on a high.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers ahead of Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan:

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Head-to-Head records: In a total of 57 games played between the two teams, Pakistan dominates the contest with 21 wins over Sri Lanka’s 17 wins, while 19 games have ended in a draw. In Sri Lanka, both have faced each other on 25 occasions with Pakistan winning 9 games and losing 8 games, and 8 matches have ended in a draw.

1 - Shaheen Afridi (99) requires 1 more wicket to complete 100 wickets in Tests.

8 – Sarfaraz Ahmed (2992) needs 8 runs to reach the landmark of 3000 runs in Tests.

2 – Shan Masood (198) needs 2 more fours to complete 200 fours in International Cricket.

8 – Abdullah Shafique (992) needs 8 runs to reach the landmark of 1000 runs in Tests.

101 – Pathum Nissanka (2899) requires 101 runs to complete 3000 runs in International Cricket.

9 – Angelo Mathews (191) needs 9 more wickets to complete 200 wickets in International Cricket.

62 – Kusal Mendis (3938) needs 62 runs to complete 4000 runs in Test.

1 – Dhananjaya de Silva (49) is one match away from appearing in his 50th Test for Sri Lanka.

1 – Dinesh Chandimal (299) is one match away from appearing in his 300th International Match for Sri Lanka.