After an embarrassing defeat by an innings and 242 runs in the first test against Australia – Sri Lanka’s worst loss in its history – the hosts are hungry to bounce back in Galle and level the two-match series.
The game, which starts on Thursday, holds added significance as it marks the farewell test for 36-year-old opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne, who has amassed 7,172 runs and will be playing in his 100th match.
The former captain has reflected on his journey, expressing gratitude for an international career that exceeded his expectations.
Karunaratne told reporters on Wednesday: “I have enjoyed every bit of the cricket. I will miss being in the dressing room. When I started all I wanted was to play just one test match, but to finish with 100 is something I truly cherish. Around 2017 I believed I could push towards 10,000 test runs but in recent years we haven’t played enough test cricket, which is disappointing.”
Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva emphasized the need for a strong response after the first test and Sri Lanka is expected to make three changes to its team.
Top-order batter Pathum Nissanka is set to replace Oshada Fernando, off-spinner Ramesh Mendis is likely to come in for leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay and paceman Lahiru Kumara is expected to be preferred to Asitha Fernando.
De Silva said: “Our batting in the first game was disappointing. We’ve addressed what went wrong. We need to bat deep and that didn’t happen last week. Many batters got starts but failed to capitalize. That’s something we must fix. Also, it wasn’t a typical Galle pitch last time but this one looks different.”
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