Sri Lanka vs South Africa, 2nd Test, Preview: Visitors set to undergo another trial by spin in Colombo

Sri Lanka and South Africa will lock horns in the second and final Test match of the series at Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. The visitors have all the running to do in this game as they are lagging behind after losing the first game with an abject surrender while facing quality spin bowling. A similar kind of pitch awaits them and they will have to fight their inner demons to come out on top against the island nation who are looking a formidable unit even in the absence of their regular Dinesh Chandimal.

Suranga Lakmal must be enjoying his captaincy stint after winning both the matches so far. He has managed his troops well so far and one would rather feel that it is not tough to lead the team when the likes of Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera are bowling in tandem throughout the innings. Lakmal possesses the traits of becoming a better leader nevertheless and he will be tested if the opposition fares better against the spinners.

Faf du Plessis, on the other hand, has a lot to ponder. He was of the opinion of doing away with the toss in Test matches after being hammered in Galle and once again South Africa will have to pray that he wins the toss which plays an important role in Sri Lanka. In any case, it couldn’t be an excuse for their batsmen and they should improve their performance in the next five days.

Team Combination

Sri Lanka

There is no need for the hosts to tinker with their winning combination. Their opener Dimuth Karunaratne made a come back with a stunning performance in Galle. But the team management will be expecting more from the other batsmen as well this time around.

The bowling attack will be led by none other than Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera supported him excellently. Lakshan Sandakan is expected to retain his place and Suranga Lakmal continues to be the lone pacer in the line-up.

Probable XI: Dimuth Karunaratne, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Lakshan Sandakan

South Africa

The visitors might consider bringing in an extra batsman for this game at the expense of Vernon Philander who struggled for the most parts in Galle. Theunis de Bruyn or Heinrich Klaasen is likely to replace him. There is also a possibility of Shaun von Berg to get a debut who will be the third spinner and can bat a bit as well. Their batsmen should somehow find a way to tackle the spinners which will make life easy for them eventually.

Probable XI: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Theunis de Bruyn/Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi

Focus will be on

Dilruwan Perera (Sri Lanka)

Dilruwan Perera overshadowed the legendary Herath with his wily off-spin bowling in Galle. His figures of 10/78 prove how well he bowled and now the challenge for him will be to continue in the same vein. No wonder the opponents will come out with a plan to tackle him and might force him to unfurl more variations. Much will depend on how Perera will fare in case the visitors play spin well.

Keshav Maharaj (South Africa)

Keshav Maharaj went wicketless in 17 overs in the first innings in the previous match. But the left-arm spinner learnt quickly and scalped four of the opponent’s top five batsmen. He is tipped to be bang on from the word go in Colombo and if South Africa wins the toss, his role with the ball will be even more crucial. Also, it is important for him to grind down with the bat and score some runs while batting at 8 or 9.

Stat Attack

421 – Dale Steyn needs only 1 more wicket to become South Africa’s highest wicket-taker in Tests.

8997 – Hashim Amla has scored 8982 runs in his Test career so far. He needs 3 more runs to become the 3rd South African to score 9000 runs in this format.

Head to Head

Played – 26, South Africa – 14, Sri Lanka – 6, Draw – 6

Broadcast details– Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 1 HD

Live streaming– Sony LIV

Match Timings: 10:00 IST, 04:30 GMT

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