Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Prediction: Sri Lanka made history by defeating England

Sri Lanka and New Zealand are head to head for the first test of Test Series at Galle International Cricket Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka on 18th September 2024. Sri Lanka made history by defeating England at their home ground in the final test. Who will win this game of cricket?

Sri Lanka have announced their team for their two-match home series against New Zealand, which gets underway from 18th September. Not much would be forgotten about Pathum Nissanka's incredible batting feats in Sri Lanka's successful Test last long time back, but that has amped up the team's morale. From here on, they will look forward to trying to take this into the two home matches against New Zealand.

Nissanka's tremendous innings of 127 runs off 124 balls played a very important role in Sri Lanka's win against England, which saw quality bowling from the pacers Lahiru Kumara, Asitha, and Vishwa Fernando. Oshada Fernando returning to the team after some quality outings for the A team is some good news while the ones missing out are Nishan Madushka, Nisala Tharaka, and Kasun Rajitha. Whether Fernando will find a berth in the playing eleven remains to be seen, considering the severity of the batting lineup that might like to play.

Sri Lanka is doing pretty well at this venue, winning 66% of the matches played here in the last decade. Prabath Jayasuriya's inclusion in the side makes Sri Lanka a better team in home conditions as he has taken 46 wickets in the last 9 Tests. unless New Zealand could play New Zealand to levels that can counter spinners, it's a game Sri Lanka seems ready for.

Dimuth Karunaratne, Prathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Prabath Jayasuriya

It was an opportunity for them to play Afghanistan in India ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka but it slipped away from them. That did not affect the points tally in the World Test Championship, but it effectively deprived them of a much-needed practice ahead of the series with Sri Lankan spinners after practicing against Afghan spinners.

The Kiwis have had an excellent record against Sri Lanka in recent past, winning 4 out of the last 5 Test matches played against them. In their last visit to Sri Lanka, they dominated by winning a Test match by an innings and 65 runs, with Tom Latham and BJ Watling scoring century each. Latham has traveled as part of the same squad, while Watling is not going to play this series.

Looking to bounce back after a 2-0 loss at home against Australia, New Zealand will be fired up for the series against Sri Lanka. Here, captain Tim Southee will have to rope in strategies to come out on top in spin-friendly conditions while keeping himself in contention for a spot in the World Test Championship. Kane Williamson is batting at an average of 65 in the last 10 games, and Daryl Mitchell has batted at a strike rate of 616 runs in the last 9 games. The middle and lower order will be highly reliant on him. Matt Henry will be the third man over Southee and Santner with 40 wickets in the last 10 games.

Tim Southee (c), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Kane Williamson

Sri Lanka has been highly confident after their glorious win in England. Now, after all those traveling, they are back at their home and seem to be ready to take over by their strong spin attack on opponents. New Zealand is coming off a series loss at home and having a Test match canceled so they are unlikely to go too strongly at Galle. Though Sri Lanka has a rather poor track record against New Zealand, Sri Lanka's strong team can be expected to come out strong under favorable conditions. We predict that Sri Lanka would win against New Zealand.