New-look Sri Lanka hopes to bounce back
Sri Lanka will hope to usher in a new era with Dinesh Chandimal as Test captain by bouncing back from a 3-2 One-Day International series defeat to Zimbabwe with victory in the one-off Test starting on Friday at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Chandimal, long thought of as a future leader, was appointed captain after Angelo Mathews resigned at the end of a poor run of results for Sri Lanka across formats, culminating in the ODI defeat in the hands of Zimbabwe, which Mathews called one of the lowest points in his career.
“I am passionate about leading the side and I want to take this team forward and improve our rankings,” said Chandimal, who has in the past led the limited-overs sides, in the lead-up to the Test. “We had a lot of ups and downs in the past year. But we have good young and older players.”
Sri Lanka, currently No. 7 in the ICC Test team rankings, lost to Zimbabwe following a fitness and coaching crisis and an early departure from the ICC Champions Trophy.
Danushka Gunathilaka, who did well in the ODI series, is expected to make his Test debut at the top of the Sri Lankan batting alongside the experienced Dimuth Karunaratne, while the rest of the batting order also wears a solid look on pacer. That aside, Sri Lanka will hope for good performances from Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera, who are likely to lead the spin attack after not featuring in the ODIs.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe will want to maintain its momentum with Hamilton Masakadza likely to leading the batting. But beating Sri Lanka in a Test match poses a greater challenge for the inexperienced Zimbabwe side even though it expressed confidence about its chances.
“This tour has been very special for us. Now we must do well in the Test match to finish off the tour on a high note,” said Graeme Cremer, the Zimbabwe captain.
Teams (from)
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Dimuth Karunaratne, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara.
Zimbabwe: Graeme Cremer (capt), Ryan Burl, Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chatara, Craig Ervine, Hamilton Masakadza, Peter Moor, Chris Mpofu, Carl Mumba, Tarisai Musakanda, Natsai M'shangwe, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Malcolm Waller, Nathan Waller, Sean Williams.