Big Picture: The Warne-Muralidaran trophy is back
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And so it shapes up again. Australia are coming off their big Border Gavaskar Trophy win, of course. Through their 3-1 win in that series, they also booked their World Test Championship final spot. They are missing regular captain Pat Cummins, who is on paternity leave, but have a seasoned leader in Steven Smith.
Sri Lanka had had a decent Test year in 2024, until the disappointing series in South Africa to finish it off. But they will feel as if their Test team is building to something – maybe mounting a more serious campaign in the next WTC cycle, in which they appear to have a relatively easy schedule.
It will likely come down to spin in Galle. This surface doesn’t appear to be the dryest one the ground has turned out, and may stay together a little longer than usual, owing to January’s cooler weather. But it is likely to take substantial turn from day three onwards. Expect plenty of sweeping and reverse-sweeping, and catchers around the bat as the match wears on.
Form guide
Sri Lanka: LLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia: WWWDL
In the spotlight: Nathan Lyon and Prabath Jayasuriya
A track that tends to start off dry, a sea breeze that helps sap what little moisture there is in the pitch, footmarks to bowl into from as early as day two sometimes – Galle is basically spin-bowling paradise. As such, how well your lead spinner goes in a Galle Test goes a long way to deciding the outcome.
Pitch and conditions: Some rain around
There’s a little unseasonal rain around in Galle, but rare is the Galle Test that even goes into the last couple of sessions, even if there are interruptions along the way. Dhananjaya de Silva said he expected the surface to be decent for batting to begin with. Temperatures are forecast to hover around 30 degrees celsius.
Team news: Who will be SL’s opener?
Australia (possible): 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Travis Head, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith (capt.), 5 Josh Inglis, 6 Beau Webster, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Mathew Kuhnemann, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Scott Boland/ Todd Murphy
Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Oshada Fernando, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt.), 7 Kusal Mendis (wk), 8 Prabath Jayasuriya, 9 Nishan Peiris, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Lahiru Kumara/Vishwa Fernando
Stats and trivia: Smith 10,000 watch
- Steve Smith is one run away from completing 10,000 in Test cricket. He’d be the fourth Australia batter to the milestone, after Alan Border, Steve Waugh, and Ricky Ponting.
- Prabath Jayasuriya took 12 wickets for 177 in the one Test he’d played against Australia – on debut in Galle.
- All up, Australia have won three of the six Tests they’ve played in Galle, losing two and drawing one.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf
Source: ESPN Crickinfo