Dhananjaya de Silva to return while Lahiru Kumara misses out

In the first Test at Galle last week, Sri Lanka went into the match with five specialist bowlers and six batsmen which came as a surprise to everyone but turned out to be mighty successful as all the five bowlers played their part in the victory. Sri Lanka last played six specialist batsmen at Lords 2011 and even then they had all rounders Farveez Maharoof and Thisara Perera coming in at seven and eight.

But with Dhananjaya de Silva set to return to action, it is very much possible that the Lankans would once again play seven batsmen at the P Sara Oval where the second Test is scheduled to be played. Meanwhile, fast bowler, Lahiru Kumara is likely to miss out on the game.

The Sri Lankan team did not enjoy a good time in South Africa and the case was no different for de Silva who made his Test debut against Australia last year. Although he featured in all the games against the Proteas but did no good to the team as he failed to make a single half century in 14 innings across all three formats of the game. As a result, he was sidelined for the tour against Australia and was not picked for the first Test at Galle against the Tigers.

As Lahiru Kumara is likely to miss out it will be all rounder Asela Gunaratne who will share the new ball with Suranga Lakmal and would be backed by spin trio of Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan.

The second Test would be quite special for the Tigers as it marks their 100th Test appearance. Bangladesh would look to make the most out of their 100th Test in an effort to make it a memorable one. The venue of the match is the P. Sara Oval in Colombo which has seen some of the greatest moments in Sri Lankan cricket history.