New Zealand's tour of Sri Lanka is all set to commence on September 18. The two teams will face each other in the two-match Test series at a crucial juncture in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The Kiwis are at the third position in the WTC standings with a PCT of 50 while Sri Lanka are fifth with a PCT of 42.86 and victory in this series will strengthen their position.
Tim Southee and his men are coming off a frustrating time at Greater Noida where their one-off Test against Afghanistan was washed out completely. The toss was also not possible as the sub-standard facilities at the venue came under the scanner. New Zealand's plan to get acclimatised to the Asian conditions with this Test match failed and without any match practice and warm-up game, they will take the field in Galle on Wednesday (September 18).
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are high on confidence after their win over England in the third Test match at the Oval. Even though they lost the three-match series, a win away from home, especially in England, is always special and Dhanajaya de Silva will be hoping that his team continues to perform well in favourable conditions.
The first Test will be special as it will go on for six days with the rest day allocated on September 21. There is the presidential election in Sri Lanka on that day and no play will be possible.
Here's all you need to know about SL vs NZ Test Series
Schedule
1st Test - September 18 - September 23 at 10 AM IST
2nd Test - September 26 - September 30 at 10 AM IST
Both matches will be played at Galle International Stadium in Galle.
Squads
Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya De Silva (captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Oshada Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake
New Zealand: Tim Southee (captain), Glenn Phillips, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Michael Bracewell, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Matt Henry, William O'Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Ben Sears
SL vs NZ Live telecast and streaming
The Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Test series will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network and the live streaming will be available on Sony LIV and Fancode in India.
