Sri Lanka make two changes to their playing XI ahead of 2nd Test vs England
The Sri Lanka cricket team have announced their playing XI for the second Test against England, beginning on August 29 at the Lord's Cricket Ground. The tourists have made two changes, dropping batter Kusal Mendis Pathum Nissanka, who will bat at No. 3. They have also left out right-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando for a like-for-like candidate Lahiru Kumara.
Mendis made scores of 24 and 0 in the opening Test at Old Trafford in Manchester and hasn't reached a triple-figure in the format score since July 2023. Nissanka, meanwhile, will play his first Test since July 2022 and averages 38.35 in nine matches with 537 runs alongside a solitary hundred. The right-hander is a mainstay for Sri Lanka in white-ball cricket and will look to seal his spot in the red-ball side.
As for Fernando, he was leaky in both innings in the opening Test, finishing with figures of 19.3-1-73-2 and 8-0-46-0. England batters found him easy to deal with as the hosts won by five wickets. Kumara last played a Test in April this year and has picked up 85 scalps in 28 games at 36.87. His ability to generate steep bounce could be handy for the Island nation.
Sri Lanka playing XI: Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kamindu Mendis, Prabhat Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Milan Rathnayake.
Sri Lanka failed to produce collective batting performance in Manchester
The visitors struggled in the first innings of the opening Test, finding themselves 6-3 at one stage of the contest after choosing to bat first. They did well to get to 236, headlined by fighting half-centuries from De Silva and Rathnayake. The Island nation also fought back well with the ball, but Jamie Smith's 111 and some invaluable lower-order runs helped the hosts to a 122-run lead.
A fighting hundred from Mendis and a partnership of 117 with Chandimal set England a tricky fourth-innings target of 205. Sri Lanka were briefly in the game, but a calm Joe Root stayed till the end and steered England to a five-wicket win.