1ST TEST PREVIEW
By Srian Obeyesekere
The retiring Angelo Mathews will be looking to fire from the hip to ending a 16 year Test career with a bang when the veteran of 118 test matches with 16 centuries and 45 half tons and over 8000 runs under his name makes his farewell appearance against Bangladesh tomorrow on a predictably spin friendly surface at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in what marks the beginning of the 2025 World Test Championship cycle of two sides, both on a low keel this year with Najmul Hossain Shanto’s men having lost their two early outings this year to fronting Dhananjaya de Silva led Lankan outfit that will interestingly see a new blend in the fold of six uncapped players, four of whom batsmen in Lahiru Udara, Donal Dinusha, Pavan Rathnayake and Pasindu Sooriyabandara, an apparent selector move to beefing up the batting looking four months back to Sri Lanka suffering a 2-nil series defeat at home at the hands of Australia while all-rounder Isitha Wjesundera and spin prodigy Akila Dananjaya, who lost his way out from a telling early career appearance following rehabilitation over his bowling action, is very likely to make a comeback since that 2019 bad period, and very likely to pair with the big wicket taking orthodox Prabath Jayasuriya to whom Galle has been a happy hunting ground in the last few years under the captaincy of Dimuth Karunaratne who had singled him out as a wicket taking match winner.
In a test clash of great importance to both sides with the long format still regarded as the undisputed Old Gold of Cricket, by far the glow will of course be old soldier Angelo Mathews who will draw on all his reserves to reigning high to signing out with a one last gem of an innings. That the champion batsman, who did make the most of a handsome copybook technique to winning over bowlers in a test aggregate of 8167 runs, his greatest conquest over England at Old Trafford by a brilliant century 160 in fashioning a historic maiden Test triumph at Headingley in 2014 to a series triumph over the English, will face the challenge of coming good on a tricky wicket against a spin heavy Bangladesh attack said to be mounted by Mehidy and Taijul Islam, will be the ultimate test of strength and character in the 36-year old’s swansong fling to final greatness.
On paper, Sri Lanka will go out firm favourites on a 20-match win record to Bangladesh’s solitary win from 26 face offs. Bangladesh will be largely looking to skipper Shanto to deliver with the bat in what has been a lean run of the top order in recent setbacks.
Sri Lanka is mindful of the poor match scheduling in the Test championship cycle when they will play their next test in the middle of 2026 in a gap of almost one year which is questionable as to the fairness of match allocations by the ICC which did effect Sri Lanka’s chances in the last run up with both Mathews and the retired Dimuth Karunaratne lamenting the handicap setbacks to Sri Lanka.
It is relevant that skipper Dhananjaya de Silva in his pre-test press talk lamented Sri Lanka missing on an outside chance of making the last test championship finals while calling on his team to play to their ability to go through despite the vagaries of the test schedule thrown at Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka (likely): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Lahiru Udara, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kusal Mendis (wk), 8 Tharindu Ratnayake, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Akila Dananjaya, 11 Asitha Fernando
Bangladesh (likely): 1 Shadman Islam, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Jaker Ali (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Nayeem Hasan, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Hasan Murad, 11 Hasan Mahmud.
