SL vs NZ Dream11 Prediction, Playing XI, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Pitch Report & Injury Updates for New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka 2024, 2nd Test

Sri Lanka will take on New Zealand in the second Test of the two-match series. The match is scheduled to start on Thursday, September 26, at the Galle International Stadium in Galle. New Zealand’s wait of winning a Test series in Sri Lanka continues to remain as it is. It is the ninth Test series for New Zealand in Sri Lanka. New Zealand’s first and only series win came during the first-ever Test series in Sri Lanka in 1984. They won the three-match series by the margin of 2-0. Since then, Sri Lanka have won three series, while the remaining four series have ended in a draw. The last two Test series between these two teams have ended in a draw.

In the first Test, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat. Kamindu Mendis scored a splendid century after Sri Lanka lost a few early wickets. His knock of 114 runs helped Sri Lanka post a total of 305 runs in the first innings. William ORourke was the best-performing bowler for the Kiwi side and picked five wickets for 55 runs in 18.5 overs. Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, and Daryl Mitchell scored a half-century each for New Zealand. New Zealand made 340 runs and earned a lead of 35 runs. Prabath Jayasuriya picked four wickets for Sri Lanka and was the best bowler.

In the second innings, Sri Lanka lost the wicket of Pathum Nissanka for just six runs. The next set of batters helped Sri Lanka remain in the game. Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, and Angelo Mathews made a half-century each for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka finished with 309 runs on the board and gave New Zealand the target of 275 runs. Ajaz Patel was the most successful bowler for New Zealand and picked up six wickets. New Zealand lost their first four wickets even before crossing the 100-run mark. Rachin Ravindra and Tom Blundell added 56 runs for the fifth wicket. However, the remaining players couldn’t do much with the bat. New Zealand were bundled out for 211 runs and lost the match by 63 runs.

This win has helped Sri Lanka move to third place in the World Test Championship points tally. Another win will help their chances of finishing in the top two places. New Zealand, the inaugural World Test Champions are in fourth place and lost their fourth Test match in this cycle of the World Test Championship.

Vishwa Fernando, who didn’t play the first Test, has been ruled out of this match. He developed a tightness in his right hamstring while practicing and will undergo rehabilitation at the board's high-performance center. Uncapped offspinner Nishan Peiris has been picked in the squad to replace Fernando.