When the first match of a two-Test series gets underway on Wednesday in Galle, Sri Lanka will want to make life more difficult for Australia’s injury-riddled team. As a result of their unexpected 3-2 success in the one-day series last week, Sri Lanka will rely heavily on their spinner-heavy bowling attack to take the lead in the Test series. Dimuth Karunaratne will serve as captain of a team that has been bolstered by the addition of Jeffrey Vandersay to their spin brigade of Lasith Embuldeniya, Praveen Jayawickrama, and Ramesh Mendis.
The hosts bowled more than 40 overs of spin in the fourth one-day international to win the 50-over series, giving the Australian batsmen a taste of what to expect from the lengthier format. When Australia last visited in 2016, Gunaratna warned that the visitors will be ready this time around despite the fact that Sri Lanka hammered them in a three-Test series. The website cricbuzz quotes Karunaratne as saying, “They will also be prepared for our conditions for sure.” We would have to put in a lot of work, and it would not be easy.
