The forthcoming high stakes two-Test series between Sri Lanka and Australia played for the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy at Galle will be the final Test series in the on-going 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) Cycle. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) released the tour itinerary last Friday (1).
Presently reigning ICC world Test champions Australia are placed second in the WTC leader board behind table-topping India with Sri Lanka in third spot.
Though, analysts say before the upcoming series, there could well be a mad scramble for a spot in next June’s Lord’s final between the top three and South Africa, who have also come into the equation.
The Proteas, who registered a 2-0 clean sweep over Bangladesh to mark their first Test series triumph in the sub-continent in 16 years recently, will host Sri Lanka for two Tests in November-December and those games will be critical for their aspirations of being featured in a first-ever final.
The first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia, is set to begin on 29 January, with the second and final Test planned for 6 February, with the title-holders due to arrive in Colombo on 20 January.
The earlier when these two teams clashed on Lankan soil two years ago, the teams drew the series 1-1, with the Australians having drawn first blood, after which the hosts had rallied to square the ‘rubber’, with both games being played at the scenic Galle Stadium.
With Galle being one of Sri Lanka’s happy hunting grounds, somewhat unsurprisingly the SLC has scheduled both games of the impending series, at the historic venue.
This has obviously been done with the fervent hope that Dhananjaya de Silva’s men would use the conditions in Galle to their advantage and win both, thereby putting them in the frame for a place in the Lord’s finale.
Most in recent times the home team whitewashed New Zealand 2-0 at the aforementioned venue, which also was their first home series success over the tourists since 2009.
The cynosure of all eyes throughout the upcoming Warne-Murali Trophy series, undoubtedly will be two local players and they are run machine left-hander Kamindu Mendis and champion left-arm orthodox bowler Prabath Jayasuriya.
Mendis has not turned back from the record-breaking start to his once stalled red-ball career, against Bangladesh last May and presently sports the best average (91.27) of all leading batters in the ongoing WTC cycle.
How this free-scoring southpaw goes against the Aussies will have a big bearing on Lanka staking a claim to that marquee final.
Jayasuriya with his wiles has proved to be a handful for touring sides at Galle and his current record speaks for itself-71 scalps in just eight Tests with an outstanding average of 21.78 which also contains eight five-wicket hauls.
The Aussies for their part will earnestly hope that they bear a lean patch across the series, enabling them to take both games and guarantee their second successive final appearance to defend the title.
The world champions will maybe miss their regular Captain Pat Cummins for this series, as he is slated to go on paternity leave as his spouse is due to give birth to their second child around the time the series is played.
It is still not confirmed who will represent for Cummins during the forthcoming tour to the island-nation with either Travis Head or Mitch Marsh set to be in the frame to be the acting captain.
For the record Australia who are the current holders of the Warne-Murali Trophy, have not beaten the Lankans in a red-ball series here since 2011, when they recorded a 1-0 victory in a three-match series under Michael Clarke.
Sri Lanka’s last series victory came eight years ago when an Angelo Mathews led outfit blanked Steve Smith’s tourists 3-0.
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