Sri Lanka bat first in 2nd Test against Australia

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first against Australia in the second Test being played in Galle International Cricket Stadium today (06).

The match is scheduled to commence at 10.00 a.m. (IST) today.

Australia utterly dominated the first Test last week, powered by Usman Khawaja’s maiden double century in the first innings.

Sri Lanka will be desperate to bounce back after suffering their heaviest Test defeat in the first game. The visitors thrashed Sri Lanka by an innings and 242 runs in the series opener at the same venue last week. Australia outplayed Sri Lanka in all the departments and will be looking to make the most of the momentum.

Going into the second Test, Sri Lanka have made two changes to their squad, with Ramesh Mendis being recalled while seamer Vishwa Fernando and top-order batter Lahiru Udara have been released from the 18-member squad.

Being an all-rounder with 15 Tests under his belt, Mendis is expected to help bolster Sri Lanka’s front-line spinning options.

Mendis was initially dropped from the Test squad following a sub-par performance against New Zealand last year. However, following his strong form both with bat and ball in the ongoing first-class Major League Tournament, Mendis has earned back his stripes in the Test squad. 

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka opener and former skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has decided to call time on his career after this match, which will also be his 100th Test.

Squads:

Sri Lanka:
Dimuth Karunaratne, Oshada Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Kusal Mendis(w), Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nishan Peiris, Sonal Dinusha, Lahiru Udara, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake

Australia:
Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith(c), Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey(w), Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Cooper Connolly

--With agencies inputs