After a humiliating defeat by 278 runs, South Africa will now take on Sri Lanka in the second and final test match at the Sinhalese Sports Club starting on Friday, July 20, 2018.
Live scores:
Day 2- 306/9
Day 1 - 277/9 after 86 overs.
Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat first.
South African batsmen have struggled and struggled against quality spin bowling all throughout the last two decades, and the story was repeated again when they came in front of the Sri Lankan attack in Galle last week.
With a lead of 1-0, Sri Lanka would be really charged up after they bundled South Africa for a mere 73 runs in their second innings at Galle.
Dimuth Karunaratne's stubborn knocks with the bat in both the innings and Dilwaranu Perera's ten-wicket haul helped the side to a historic victory against the Proteas. The match is supposed to begin at 10:00 AM Local (4:30 AM GMT).
Team News
With the captain, Dinesh Chandimal getting suspended for two tests and four ODIs, Suranga Lakmal is expected to continue as the captain of the side. The team has done quite all right under Lakmal, as another victory in the Caribbean followed the victory at Galle.
Looking at the perfect balance the Lankan side has, it is unlikely that they will make any changes to their XI. The three-spinner strategy prevailed in Galle and looking at the history of the SSC pitch; they are likely to keep all the three spinners in the line-up.
TV telecast and live streaming
The match will be telecast live by Channel Eye in Sri Lanka and Sony Six in India. Viewers in SL can watch the live streaming on the official Youtube channel of SLC. Sony Six will also stream the game live at its website.
LIVE: Sri Lanka vs South Africa 2018, 2nd Test - Day 2 https://t.co/icekqq7th9 #SLvSA
— Sri Lanka Cricket (@OfficialSLC) July 21, 2018
The South African team has a few issues to address before going into the second test on Friday.
They might have to drop a seamer in favor of a batsman or a spinner, considering their performance in the first test. There will be some pressure on the skipper Faf du Plessis after the disappointing loss in the first outing. Rest of the XI might be same as the Galle test.
The pitch at SSC has a history of favoring the spinners more than the seamers. The pitch is expected to turn even more as the game progresses, hence the toss will be a key factor.
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