A six-day Test! Sri Lanka announced a rare six-day Test match against New Zealand with a rest day in between for the 'Presidential Election of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka' on September 21. The first Test of the two-match series in Galle kicks off on September 18 but after three days of play, if the game is still on, will resume a day after on September 22. This is the first time a Test match is being played with a rest day in between in more than a decade, and the first time in Sri Lanka since 2001.
The rest days were a common feature of Test matches in the bygone 19th century, especially in England on Sundays, before the concept was eradicated altogether. Still, due to a few unavoidable circumstances like elections, religious or spiritual days or a lockdown, there have been rest days. This will be only the third in the 20th century. The last six-day Test match with a rest day was in Dhaka in 2008 where December 29 was off due to parliamentary elections.
The first Test of the two-match series kicks off on September 18 and will go until September 23 while the second begins on September 26 till September 30. The two-match series forms a key part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle with both teams still very much in the hunt for a spot in the final.
Sri Lanka are currently involved in a three-match Test series against England if the results go against them, the WTC final qualification go out of their hand and hence they will need to win at least a game or two in the UK to stand a chance.
New Zealand, on the other hand, will be coming to the sub-continent for a long-ish tour as the Black Caps are scheduled to play Afghanistan in a one-off test in second week of September before they travel to Sri Lanka and come back to India for three more games. New Zealand are currently in third place in the WTC standings while Sri Lanka are fourth.
