Sri Lanka guaranteed at least a share of their Test series against the West Indies with a one sided win in Galle last week and they will aim to seal a series whitewash when the two sides meet for the second and final time over the long course in Colombo on Thursday.
West Indies were at their abject worst in the first Test but if there is some comfort for them in this match it is that the Colombo wicket usually offers more pace and bounce which should keep their bowlers interested.
Sri Lanka don’t need to change too much from their first Test win but reading between the lines it would appear their patience with Lahiru Thirimanne has run out and Kusal Mendis will replace him and bat at number three.
It has been a while since the West Indies had a solid opening partnership and Shai Hope hasn’t really lived up to the hype in his short Test career so he has left the door open for Rajendra Chandrika to replace him. The pressure is on the openers to see off the new ball and protect a flimsy middle order.
The P Sara Oval in Colombo is the venue for this match. It has held 19 previous matches with Sri Lanka having an 8-6 winning record with four draws. Surprisingly this is the first time West Indies have played a Test on this ground.
Galle was a high scoring ground but this one isn’t the same. Runs can be had here but the bowlers are usually more in the game here. That in itself should give us every chance of a result here but it has to be said the forecast could be better and that puts me off taking anything too dramatic here.
Instead I’m just going to take a shot at the top batsmen in both sides. Starting with Sri Lanka and given that Kusal Mendis is likely to make his debut and bat at three the 14/1 on him looks good value here. Admittedly he made a first ball duck in the warm up match against the West Indies but he must have something about him to be called up.
Anyone who bats at three in a Test match is value at 14/1 and with Dinesh Chandimal the only Sri Lankan who has sustained form in 2015 the total Mendis might need to top score could be lower than usual. I’ll take a chance on him at that price.
A slightly better chance comes in the form of Jermaine Blackwood in the West Indies batting market. West Indies were hopeless with the bat in the first match but Blackwood’s 92 in the second innings shows that he can at least apply himself when all hope is lost and hopefully with the series on the line he will stand up and be counted.
Blackwood has gone past 50 in three of his last six first innings in Test cricket and another one here could well be enough to seal the top bat for his side first time around.
Back K.Mendis Top Sri Lanka 1st Inns Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 with Bet365
Back J.Blackwood Top West Indies 1st Inns Batsman for a 2/10 stake at 8.00 with Bet365
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