Sri Lanka vs Pakistan – 1st Test Preview & Prediction

Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!

THE FACTS

When is Sri Lanka vs Pakistan taking place? Sunday, July 16th-20th, 2023 – 05:00 (UK)

Where is Sri Lanka vs Pakistan taking place? Sri Lanka vs Pakistan will take place at Galle International Stadium, Galle

LAST MEETING
Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 246 runs

THE LOWDOWN

SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka return to Test match action three months after demolishing Ireland in the subcontinent and now welcome Pakistan to Galle for what should be an intriguing first Test. A 16-man squad had been named by the hosts, which includes left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka. The 22-year-old will be hoping to make his Test debut after recently becoming the most expensive buy in the Lanka Premier League auction. Elsewhere, Dimuth Karunaratne remains captain despite him verbally expressing a wish to resign in the near future. It will be interesting to see how Sri Lanka transition back into red ball cricket after recently playing a mountain of limited overs matches in Zimbabwe, albeit successfully as they successfully booked their place at the ICC Cricket World Cup in India later this year.

PAKISTAN

Pakistan are not in the greatest of health currently in regards to Test match cricket, having not won their last six games in the five-day format. You have to go back to late last year for their last games in the format, drawing against Sri Lanka. They’ll be hoping that the return of Shaheen Shah Afridi to the Test stage can spark a turnaround in fortunes. The left-arm pacer has missed a large portion of Test cricket for Pakistan through injury, but he is in the squad for this first game and should lead a bowling attack that may include Hasan Ali, who was recalled following an excellent spell of county cricket form with Warwickshire. Skipper Babar Azam will no doubt have a key role to play with the bat, as will wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan.

THE PREDICTION

It’s been a long time since Pakistan competed in this format and this may have an adverse effect on them here, although a couple of warm-up fixtures prior to this first Test will have helped. Sri Lanka are a notoriously good side in home conditions and their spinners are likely to be afforded plenty of assistance in Galle. Pakistan’s batting really let them down against England especially late last year on flat pitches and a similar showing here in the long-format may well prove costly. When considering Sri Lanka’s quality within the spin-department, backing them to win via the safety of the draw no bet market looks a smart move in this one.

TIP: SRI LANKA DRAW NO BET