Rex Clementine in Galle  

Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has hit a purple patch this year and if his run fest continues, he will be equalling a World Record when the second Test match against West Indies gets underway today here in Galle. Dimuth has notched up six consecutive half-centuries in his last six innings and that is one fifty short of equalling the World Record.

Despite the form, it’s been a tough 2021 for Dimuth. It all started off well when he became the first Sri Lankan to score a hundred at the Wanderers. The South African venue popularly known as the Bull Ring for its intimidating nature is considered world’s quickest wicket now that WACA is gone. Asian batsmen have a horrendous record at the Wanderers but Dimuth took on the South African quicks to hit a marvelous hundred.

However, that knock ended with Dimuth suffering a fractured finger and he was ruled out of the home series against India. Then he had to undergo a salary cut as his annual retainer was reduced by US$ 30,000. At US$ 70,000 a year, he must be world’s lowest paid Test captain. To add insult to injury, he was unceremoniously dumped as Sri Lanka’s ODI skipper in May. But that has not stopped him from scoring big runs in Test match cricket. His last six Test innings are; 83, 147, 66, 118, 244 and 75.

Having won the first Test by 187 runs, Sri Lanka have retained the Sobers-Tissera Trophy and if the second Test is drawn, they will move up in the ICC Test rankings as well to number seven. But a draw is the last thing they want. They are guaranteed of 12 points for a win in the World Test Championship and they’d be looking to end off the year on a high note.

Sri Lanka have decided to give Dushmantha Chameera a break. The injury prone quick has been overworked this year and not many expected him to feature in the Test series. It’s hard to comprehend the reason why he featured in the opening Test as this was going to be a trial by spin for Windies. Chameera sent down just 12 overs in the entire first Test and picked up no wickets. His new ball partner Suranga Lakmal sent down only six overs for a solitary wicket.

There’s been talk of Chamika Karunaratne coming in for Chameera and while that may have been justifiable at P. Sara Oval or Pallekele, in Galle where it turns square, Sri Lanka would be better off beefing up their batting department since they have already got four spin options.  The rational thing to do would be to back Charith Asalanka to make his Test debut but common sense is an expensive commodity these days.

It remains to be seen what the Windies would do. The tourists made a big call to leave out Kemar Roach from the first Test and missed him. Roach is the eighth highest wicket taker for West Indies in the history and should make a comeback.

Jeremy Solozano, who made his debut last week but played no more than a session of Test cricket when he had to be rushed to the hospital after receiving blow on his helmet was substituted for concussion. He is unlikely to play the game.

The opening Test was heavily affected by rain and Sri Lanka won just in time. The second Test too most likely will be affected by inclement weather with rain expected for the first three days. However, you’ve got to take our weather predictions with a pinch of salt. Nobody takes Cabral’s rosy predictions about our economy seriously. So should you with weather predictions.

Teams:

West Indies (From) Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Jeremy Solozano and Jomel Warrican.

Sri Lanka (From) Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Ramesh Mendis, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lasith Embuldeniya, Vishwa Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Chamika Karunaratne and Lahiru Kumara.

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SL) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SL)

Third Umpire: Lyndon Hannibal (SL)

Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SL)