SL vs ENG 1st Test, Prediction & Betting Tips
Sri Lanka host England for the first of the two Test series at the Galle International Stadium. The match get underway on Jan 14 at 10:00 Pm local time
Sri Lanka has always been a very stiff opponent in Tests in their home conditions and England have a mammoth task on their hands.
They’ll have happy memories of the 2018 tour where they managed to beat the hosts but they’ll need some exceptional performance to replicate their success.
We all know England’s vulnerabilities against the turning balls and Sri Lanka have three quality spinners to give England a nightmare.
Dilruan Perera picked up 22 wickets in the 2018 series while Lasith Embuldaniya can get extra bounce due to his tall frame. Wanindu Hasaranga made his debut against South Africa and is a very handy spinner. All three are expected to feature in the Playing XI which will make life very difficult for the English batsmen
As a batting a batting unit, Sri Lanka is expected to perform much better than what they did in South Africa. Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella will enjoy batting on the slow surface of Galle.
For England, they have a pretty inexperienced team. They’re without the services of Ben Stokes, Rory Burns, Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali from their first choice team.
The batting will heavily rely on Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. Other players like Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Dan Lawrence might find it difficult against the spinners.
Mark Wood, Sam Curran and James Anderson will be their lead pacers but on these dead wickets, we have few doubts about their effectiveness. Dom Bess and Jack Leach as spinners will have to play a big role if England have to win this series.
SL vs ENG Live Streaming
The series can be watched live on Sky Sports in the UK while Sony Network will broadcast the matches in India.
Live Streaming - You can enjoy the Sri Lanka vs England Test series on Sony Liv mobile application.
SL vs ENG Toss Prediction
Toss plays a big role in the subcontinent as chasing on Day 4 and 5 is never easy here. Both skippers would look to bat first
Weather Report
There is plenty of rain around and we may have few interruption on each of the 5 days.
Pitch Report
The surface will be very good for batting on the first three days of the match and the spinners will take control on day 4 and 5.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds and match prediction for Sri Lanka vs England 1st Test
Sri Lanka Team News & Playing 11
SL Team News
Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Matthews and Suranga Lakmal will be back in the side after missing their last series against South Africa. Lahiru Thirimanne and Dasun Shanaka are also expected to keep their place in the playing XI
SL Key Players
- Dimuth Karunaratne - The skipper batted well against South Africa and has a good record at this venue. We expect him to perform well in the match.
- Angelo Matthews - Matthews missed the last series against South and will be eager to mark his return with a decent knock in the series opener.
- Dilruwan Perera - Dilruwan Perera was the star for Sri Lanka in the 2018 series, picking up 22 wickets. He’d want to replicate his success this time around as well.
SL Team Form
Sri Lanka are coming back from a humiliating 2-0 loss to South Africa in their last series.
Sri Lanka Predicted Playing 11
Dimuth Karunaratne (C), Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Embuldeniya, Suranga Lakmal
England Team News & Playing 11
ENG Team News
England will be without the services of their key players i.e Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Rory Burns that are missing from their first choice team.
ENG Key Players
- Joe Root - He’s England’s best batsmen and he has a great record against Sri Lanka. If England have to challenge Sri Lanka, Root has to bat well.
- Jonny Bairstow - Jonny Baristow will play Test cricket after a gap of over an year. He’d like to make the most of this opportunity.
- Jack Leach - Spinners are going to play a big role in this series and Leach is England’s best spinner. We’ll back him to come good in the match.
ENG Team Form
England are coming back from two back to back series wins against West Indies and Pakistan
England Predicted Playing 11
Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (C), Dan Lawrence, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Dom Bess, Jack Leach, Mark Wood, James Anderson
Sri Lanka vs England Head to Head
England have a great record against Sri Lanka in Tests
SL vs ENG Head to Head Stats in Tests
| Matches Played |
SL Won |
ENG Won |
Tie |
Draw |
| 34 |
8 |
15 |
0 |
11 |
🏆 Sri Lanka vs England Prediction
When you look at England, their batting lacks quality as quite a few of their batsmen are inexperienced in these conditions. Sri Lanka have three good spinners which we think will create a lot of trouble for the English batsmen. For us, Sri Lanka is the favourite.
Jan 14 - Jan 18, 2021
10:00 IST / 4:30 GMT
Galle Cricket Stadium - Colombo, Sri Lanka
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