After an entertaining match was affected by the rain in Wellington which resulted in a draw, New Zealand and Sri Lanka will meet in the second and final Test in Christchurch on Boxing Day with the winner taking the series.
New Zealand will be widely expected to win this match but there were no guarantees they were going to get the job done in the first match had the rain not arrived so it will be interesting to see if they fare any better here.
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New Zealand
When the Kiwis had Sri Lanka in trouble on the opening morning of the series in Wellington many were wondering if that first Test would see a third day but not only did it see that but it went all the way, even though New Zealand were a country mile in front after the first innings. Ultimately the pitch beat them and they will be hoping to make up for that here.
I guess New Zealand will be disappointed that they couldn’t bowl Sri Lanka out a second time and that might well mean that we see them come out all guns blazing here but you couldn’t say they did anything wrong in that first game. If they can replicate that performance here then there is every chance they will come out on top.
Sri Lanka
Although they were ultimately helped out by the rain in Wellington, I give full credit to Sri Lanka for holding themselves together under pretty significant pressure in that first game. When you are so far behind after the first innings and the second dig doesn’t begin as planned it is pretty easy to lose all faith and surrender meekly so they deserve praise for not letting that happen.
If they can produce the performance with the bat that they showed in the second innings then they are entitled to get New Zealand under pressure here. The real test will come in whether or not they can take 20 wickets quickly enough and cheaply enough to get stuck in with the bat themselves. If they can then they might be able to pull off a huge upset.
Team News
Although they couldn’t bowl Sri Lanka out for a second time, New Zealand are expected to be unchanged for this match. Matt Henry is in the squad if they want to play an all-seam attack but that seems unlikely.
Sri Lanka may not want to change too much although the green pitch might lead them to making one change with Dushmantha Chameera chomping at the bit for a return to red ball action. Kasun Rajitha could be vulnerable.
Hagley Oval
This will be just the sixth time the Hagley Oval has been used for a Test match with New Zealand winning three of the first five here. They also have a draw and a defeat to their name in that time. Sri Lanka have played here once and it was a match that they lost which isn’t something they want to remember.
There is usually always something in the wicket for the bowlers here but much like the Basin Reserve it can get easier for batting the longer the match goes on. There is said to have been a massive greenness about the wicket on the eve of the game. How much of that live grass is on it come game time remains to be seen.
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Betting
I’ll go with the one bet here which comes in the form of the player performances where BJ Watling is my man this week. The New Zealand wicket keeper took five catches in the first innings in Wellington and if this grass is left on the pitch he’s going to take more than that here. We didn’t see it at the Basin Reserve but he’s an accomplished batsman too.
He made a couple of half-centuries in the series win in the UAE and he has a pair of 50s at Hagley Oval in his seven innings that he has batted on the ground so he should have decent enough memories of the track and of his recent form. I’m not going to hold his first innings duck against him in Wellington. I expect him to score runs here and I expect him to go beyond 95.5pts over the match.
Tips
Back B-J.Watling’s Performance – Over 95.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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