Sri Lanka's tour of New Zealand 2018-19 will begin with the Test series starting on Saturday, December 15, 2018. The first Test will be played at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.
Live updates:
SL 257/8 in 81 overs.
New Zealand won the toss and elected to field
The first day's play will start at 11:00 AM NZDT, 3:30 AM SLST.
The tour consists of two Tests, three ODIs and one T20I, which is scheduled to conclude on January 11, 2019.
Live streaming and television details
Sky Sports NZ will telecast the series in New Zealand while SkyGo app and website will provide the live streaming options.
Star Sports will televise the matches in the Indian subcontinent with Hotstar providing online streaming through the app and website. Channel Eye will broadcast the matches live in the Island nation of Sri Lanka.
Sky Sports Cricket will cover the matches for the viewers in the United Kingdom while Willow TV will telecast the games in the United States.
Read: Fox Sports and Sony Ten 3 live streaming India v Australia 2nd Test at 7 AM IST
Ajaz Patel rewarded with a spot in the XI
New Zealand is coming into this series after a famous series victory over Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. According to the Cricbuzz report, Ajaz Patel is the only spinner who has been named in XI announced by the hosts on the eve of the game.
Neil Wagner has replaced William Somerville in the side while rest of the line-up is similar to the one which played the third Test in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.
Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand, 1st Test at Wellington.
— Sri Lanka Cricket (@OfficialSLC) December 15, 2018
NZ won the toss and elected to field first.
At Day 1 Tea, Sri Lanka on 167/4 (56 ovs) Mathews on 71, Chandimal on 6. Last Wicket: D Karunaratne 79 (144) #NZvSL pic.twitter.com/ip54LDJ3cd
Sri Lanka recently suffered a 3-0 humiliation at home against England.
Their recent Test performances home and away is just a shadow of what past Sri Lankan teams were. As this won't be a spin-friendly condition it is hard to predict their line-up. Akila Dhananjaya won't be featuring in this series at least as he bowling action was confirmed to be illegal recently.
The Basin Reserve pitch offers swing in the first two days while the batting gets easier as the game moves ahead.
The weather is expected to be clear in Wellington, but we all know that a shower is never too far when you are in New Zealand.
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