Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 2nd Test: Match Preview, Head to Head, Playing XI and Broadcast Details

Pakistan completed a famous victory against Sri Lanka in the first Test match in Galle, completing their second-highest chase of 342. Their highest successful chase of 377 also came against Sri Lanka in 2015 in Pallekele. Meanwhile, the second Test of the series is set to begin on Sunday in Galle.

Sri Lanka recently managed to draw the Test series 1-1 against the Australia, winning the final game by an innings and 39 runs. They would need a similar kind of performance against Babar Azam’s side to bounce back in the series.

For Pakistan, it was their 22-year-old opener Abdullah Shafique who starred with the bat and steered the chase for the visitors in the first game. He scored an unbeaten 160 off 408 balls and saw off the chase. Skipper Babar also played his part in the game scoring 119 in the first innings and 55 in the second.

Pitch and Conditions

The last three Test matches hosted by Sri Lanka have been in Galle, and this will be the fourth. It generally offers turn right from Day 1 and gets more and more challenging going into Day 4 and Day 5. The wicket is dusty and the ball could turn square from Day 3. The team winning the toss must elect to bat first and make the most when the pitch is suitable for batting.

Playing Combinations for SL vs PAK

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has gone with more or less the same lineup in their last three Test matches. Batter Pathum Nissanka has recovered from Covid-19 but might miss out on the playing XI as opener Oshada Fernando performed well in the first match. Off-spinner Lakshitha Manasinghe has replaced Maheesh Theekshana in the squad for the second game and could make his debut.

Predicted XI: Oshada Fernando, Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Ramesh  Mendis, Prabhath Jayasuriya, Lakshitha Manasinghe, Kasun Rajitha

Pakistan

Pakistan would have wanted to stick with the winning combination, however, their bowling spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi is ruled out of the Test match due to a knee injury. Pacer Harees Rauf is likely to replace Afridi.

Predicted Playing XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Mohamad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Naseem Shah

SL vs PAK Head to Head

Played – 56 | Sri Lanka – 16 | Pakistan – 21 | Draw – 19

SL vs PAK Broadcast Details

Match Date & Timings – July 24-28 & 10:00 AM

Broadcast Details – Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV