Nissanka and Lahiru in as Sri Lanka name Playing XI for Lord’s Test

ByArijit Kundu, SportsCafe Editor

08/28/2024

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A day before the second Test against England, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board announced their playing XI. Following their loss in the first test match, the Lankans made two amendments to their line-up with Kusal Mendis and Vishwa Fernando making way for Pathum Nissanka and Lahiru Kumara.

Despite a valiant show across the three departments, Sri Lanka incurred a five-wicket defeat against the home side in the first Test at Old Trafford, Manchester. Kamindu Mendis’ ton coupled with gritty fifties from Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews helped Sri Lanka set a target of 205 runs that England struggled to chase. They were 70/3 before the middle order constituting of Joe Root, Harry Brook, and Jamie Smith ensured a smooth win for the Three Lions.

The Asian side have made two changes to their squad by dropping Kusal and Vishwa for the second Test. Nissanka, who played his last Test against Australia in 2022 has been summoned to the red-ball lineup after 25 months. Meanwhile, Lahiru has been on and off due to injuries and played his last Test against Bangladesh this year.

With Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka opening the batting, Nissanka will likely be batting at No. 3. In his nine Tests, he batted once at this position, scoring 61* and 6 against India in Mohali, in 2022. Despite knitting a hundred on Test debut, the 26-year-old is yet to feature in SENA nations for the national team.

With 1-0 down already, the Dhananjaya de Silva-led unit would be hoping to equal the tally in the forthcoming encounter at the mecca of cricket.