It’s time for another re-match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan! Two cricketing nations will lock horns again for another two-match test series after a year of the previous series which ended in a tie with each team winning one. With that said, both teams will be eager to win the series this time around and kick start their 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship cycle on a winning note. With the above said, let’s take a small preview of what to expect from what will be an interesting series, shall we?
To begin with, it is important to note that this series is being played in Sri Lanka just as last year hence spin will play a major part in the series given that the pitches will naturally deteriorate as the days go on. As a result of this, the spinners of both teams are expected to play a crucial part but it is how the batters from each team play that will determine which team ends up winning. This is because since both teams are from the subcontinent they are expected to have good spinners hence the batters need to put their hands up and score runs to help their respective spinner. Therefore, some key batters to watch out from the different teams are Dinesh Chandimal from Sri Lanka and Babar Azam from Pakistan as these two batters have been in great form recently in test matches and have played a crucial part in setting up wins for their respective teams. However, these two aren’t the players to watch out for in this series as the players to watch out for are the spinners in Prabath Jayasuriya from Sri Lanka who has 5o wickets in seven matches and Pakistans, Abrar Ahmed who has 28 wickets in four matches as test cricket in the subcontinent are all about the spinners.
Furthermore, another fact that makes this series interesting is the head-to-head record between the two teams in Sri Lanka as it is closely matched with Pakistan in the lead with nine wins on the island to Sri Lankas eight wins. With that said, hosts, Sri Lanka will fix that by winning both matches while Pakistan will look to extend their lead. Moreover, this series will feature two grounds unlike last time with the first match beginning played in the Galle International Stadium from 16 June 2023 to 20th June 2023 while the second match will be played from the 24th of June 2023 to the 28th June 2023 at the Sinhalese Sports Club which hasn’t hosted a test match since 2018 hence it’ll be interesting to see how the pitch and outfield plays.
So there you have it, a small preview of the series, who will win?
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