ENG vs SL: The English are hosting the Sri Lanka team for a three-match test series at home, with the first having already been played in Manchester. The English as well as the visitors made some undeniably great attempts from their end, but in the end, there could only be a single winner, and it was rightly the English.
However, despite the English’s win, no one could forget the wonderful debut innings the Sri Lanka no. 9 Milan Rathnayake played at Old Trafford. His 72-run knock broke the long-standing record of 41 years, which was set by Balwinder Singh Sandhu in 1983 on his test debut as a no. 9.
To follow the great knock, English wicketkeeper-batsman Jamie Smith responded with his stunning maiden Test century. Later, Sri Lankan veterans Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, despite injuries, sustained the English attack and stood alongside Kamindu Mendis, who scored a brilliant hundred.
However, England, on the back of their most legitimate batter, Joe Root’s 50, earned another home win by 5 wickets.
Now with Mark Wood ruled out of the rest of the series, Josh Hull selected as his replacement, and Olly Stone probably looking forward to a test return, England will surely have some changes to their squad.
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Let’s have a look at England’s probable playing XI for the 2nd Test:
Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone, Matthew Potts, and Shoaib Bashir.
England will probably not be making many changes to their squad, as they just have a 13-member squad, of which Cox cannot replace Jamie after his sizzling ton recently, and Josh Hull has recently been brought into the side, with the only change being injured Mark Wood being replaced by Olly Stone.
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Sri Lanka probable playing XI ahead of the 2nd test:
Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Milan Rathnayake, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, and Lahiru Kumara.
Some eminent changes might be seen in the Sri Lankan team, as Madushka might be dropped after a stint of low scores, while Sadeera Samarawickrama might come in his place. While Jayasuriya might be dropped due to not-so-suitable pitches for multiple spin options, instead Lahiru Kumara’s raw pace can come in handy at Lord’s.