Sri Lanka vs Pakistan – 1st Test Match Preview & Prediction

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THE FACTS

When is Sri Lanka vs Pakistan taking place? Saturday, July 16th, 2022 – 05:30 (UK)

Where is Sri Lanka vs Pakistan taking place? Galle International Stadium, Galle

What is the expected weather for Sri Lanka vs Pakistan? 27-29c with sunny intervals across Days 1, 2, 4 and 5 and a gentle breeze, but thick clouds throughout Day 3 and a chance of thundery showers across all five days.

What channel is Sri Lanka vs Pakistan on? The match will not be televised live in the UK

Where can I stream Sri Lanka vs Pakistan? This match can be streamed live on ICC.tv

LAST MEETING
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 263 runs.

THE TEAM NEWS

SRI LANKA

• Sri Lanka gave their fans reason for huge celebration last week as they thumped Australia by an innings and 39 runs to tie their two-match Test series for the Warne-Muralitharan trophy, a wonderful result and further signs that this young team is on the right track under captain Dimuth Karunaratne and head coach Chris Silverwood.
• Debutant spin-bowler Prabath Jayasuriya wrote himself into the history books with his 12/177, the fourth best figures in Test match history for a player on debut and it is no surprise whatsoever that he has been selected for this first Test against Pakistan.
• Jayasuriya will lead the spin-bowling attack for the hosts and should be partnered with either Dunith Wellalage and/or Jeffrey Vandersay, whilst both Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama miss out on squad selection.

PAKISTAN

• You have to go all the way back to December of last year for Pakistan’s most recent Test series away from home when they thrashed Bangladesh by an innings to secure a 0-2 series victory.
• With spin anticipated to play a massive part in this Test as you would expect in Galle, Pakistan will look to Yasir Shah for both wickets and control with their plethora of fast bowlers working around him.
• Young bowler Naseem Shah has had a frustrating past few months after a hamstring injury quickly cut short his county cricket stint with Gloucestershire, but the 19-year-old is now fully fit and likely to play alongside Shaheen Shah Afridi.

THE PREDICTION

Confidence couldn’t be higher among the Sri Lankan camp following that victory over Australia and it is on the same ground where they will welcome Pakistan. This Test match is a crucial one for both nations with World Test Championship points at stake and when taking into account the Galle pitches against Australia, a positive result is expected as spin comes into play across the five days, although rain could see a number of overs lost. Sri Lanka’s batting performance against Australia in the second Test showed that they can go toe-to-toe with Pakistan in terms of batting sensibly and smartly on a turning track and they will need to do so here. The tourists have not played any sort of Test cricket since March and this may prove a trial by fire for them. No one can deny that Sri Lanka are riding the crest of a wave right now and they are perfectly capable of taking 20 wickets in Galle. Provided their batting line-up can replicate their performance against Australia then it would be no surprise to see Sri Lanka topple Pakistan in this opening Test match.