Sri Lanka vs England, England tour of Sri Lanka, 2018, Today Match Prediction 23 Nov 2018

srl vs eng Match Prediction & Analysis

England tour of Sri Lanka, that consisted of 5 ODIs, one-off T20I and 3 Tests, is reaching the final stage at Colombo on 23rd November 2018. England will take on Sri Lanka in the final Test of the series that they have already won 2-0. A win here would be an icing on the cake for the England team’s already successful tour in a long time.

England have already won the ODI series 3-1 and the one-off T20I against Sri Lanka before the Test Series. England came here on the back of very bad away tour history in the recent past. They put that record behind them to win the first two Tests at Galle and Pallekele. The third test gives the last opportunity to the host Sri Lanka to salvage some pride and end the home series with a win or a draw at least. 

SRI LANKA PREVIEW

Sri Lanka find themselves on the brink of a home series whitewash. To make the matter worse they have already lost the ODI series and the only T20I against England in this long and forgettable tour for the hosts.

Despite being on the decline for quite some time now, barring India in 2017, Sri Lanka have not lost a home series at home in the last 3 years. After losing the first Test comprehensively by 211 runs at Galle, Sri Lankans were expected to fight better in the second Test at Pallekele. They did; however, they could not complete a tricky chase of 301 despite some fine resistance with the bat by Angelo Mathews.With Chandimal ruled out of the final Test as well Sri Lanka will have to find an inspiration from somewhere to fight it out in the middle against a formidable English team.

Probable Starting XI: Suranga Lakmal (C), Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Roshen Silva, Dilruwan Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Malinda Pushpakumara.

ENGLAND PREVIEW

If someone had told before the start of the series that England would win in every format of this tour, especially the Tests, we would have laughed it off. That is how bad England have been away from home in the longest format of the game.

England were winless in 13 straight matches in Test cricket when they took to the field in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle. Add to it the fact that they had never won at this venue and we have statistical fortress for the hosts.  

Despite the odds England won at Galle with a big margin on the back of another lower middle order rescue led by Ben Foakes and then some fine spin bowling by Moeen Ali. There was a better resistance from the home side in the second Test but another fine display of spin bowling from the spin duo Leach and Ali secured the win and series for England. The news is that Stuart Broad will replace James Anderson and Johny Bairstow will come in for injured Sam Curran for the third test.

Probable Starting XI: Joe Root (C), Jonny Bairstow(wk), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Ben Foakes, Rory Burns, Adil Rashid, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, Keaton Jennings, Moeen Ali.

Weather Conditions

The conditions at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo are expected to assist spinners. Sri Lanka, despite losing Rangana Herath to retirement at the start of the series, are still reliant on the spin to win them the test matches especially at home. 

After the success of the opposition spin duo Leach and Ali, it will be interesting to see how much spin Sri Lanka would expect from their curators. In the absence of Chandimal, their best batsman against spin, we do not expect a rank turner at the SSC. As has been the trend on this sort of spin-assisting wickets the teams winning the toss should look to bat first and make use of the available turn in the fourth innings. 

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