Richard Mann previews the second Test match between England and Sri Lanka as the tourists bid to seal an unlikely away series victory.
Recommended Bets: Sri Lanka v England
2pts Moeen Ali top first innings England bowler at 10/3
1pts Dilruwan Perera top first innings Sri Lanka bowler at 13/5
Joe Root's side registered their first win in 14 overseas Tests when storming to a 211 run victory in Galle last week with debutant Ben Foakes and Keaton Jennings starring with impressive hundreds and Moeen Ali taking eight wickets with the ball.
Reports of another dry surface in Kandy won't worry England like it might have done a few weeks ago with Sri Lanka now shorn of the services of left-arm spinner Rangana Herath who retired after his swansong at Galle.
Foakes looks a real find, displaying the qualities in Galle that have seen him become such an integral part of a Surrey team that dominated the County Championship last summer and his crucial first-innings century was backed up by some outstanding glovework behind the stumps.
Having been handed his debut following the injury to Jonny Bairstow, Foakes arrived at the crease with England reeling on 103-5 but when he was last man out for 107, his display of patience, application and a high degree of skill had dragged his side to a first innings total of 342 that was always going to leave Sri Lanka on the back foot.
England's top order displayed worrying frailties once more but the middle and lower order continue to prove a strong source of runs and Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Adil Rashid all played their part with the bat.
Root's announcement on Tuesday that England will remain unchanged, despite Bairstow and Stuart Broad knocking hard on the door, looks a smart move after such a fine display but Ben Stokes' promotion to number three at the expense of Moeen Ali adds a fascinating and equally positive dimension to a top three that has looked to need an injection of urgency in recent times. Stokes will certainly provide that.
As for Sri Lanka, Herath's departure has been compounded by a groin injury to captain Dinesh Chandimal and his absence means pace bowler Suranga Lakmal will lead the side.
As a result, even further responsibility will fall on the shoulders of veteran batsman Angelo Matthews who made a pair of half-centuries in Galle and once again looked the best of the Sri Lankan batsman.
Don't write off Dimuth Karunaratne, though. The left-handed opener enjoyed a brilliant series against South Africa on home soil earlier in the year, amassing 356 runs at 118.66, and he is key to Sri Lanka's chances if he can build on his second innings 26 in the opening Test.
Lakmal will lead the bowling attack as well as the side now Herath has headed for the exit door but Dilruwan Perera bagged seven wickets in the series opener and clearly has the tools to cause England problems with conditions again expected to be in his favour.
A classic off-spinner, he will enjoy bowling to the three left-handers at the top of England's batting line-up and 13/5 for him topping Sri Lanka's bowling charts in the first innings looks very fair.
On a similar theme, Ali can be backed at 10/3 to oblige in the same market for England and his excellent form since returning to the Test team makes him another appealing prospect.
Ali has taken 20 wickets at an impressive average of 19.45 since returning to the fold against India in the summer and he looks a different character from the one who struggled with his form and confidence in the Ashes defeat Down Under previously.
The addition of Rashid to the side has certainly helped take some pressure away from him but in these conditions, he looks to be Root's go-to man and another dry surface in Kandy suggests he will come to the fore once again.
A repeat of his four first-innings wickets in Galle would certainly suffice here and I want to have him on side at 10/3.
“We planned really well as a spin trio, Leachy gave us great control. It’s never easy to win away from home, it's been a long 13 games.”
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 10, 2018
Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid discuss our spin bowling in our first ever win in Galle!
🎥 https://t.co/PuHv1lJKtM#SLvENG pic.twitter.com/f0w8ku1iAc
Those looking for an outright bet on the match would be rightly turned off by the evens price on offer for England but, while 12/5 chances Sri Lanka could easily bounce back if winning the toss and batting first, I'd suggest waiting until the coin toss before making your play.
As we have seen time and time again of late, calling right and batting first is becoming close to a guarantee of winning Test matches, especially in Asia, with many modern-day players seemingly unable to bat for long periods on deteriorating pitches.
Moral of the story; win the toss and post anything above 300 on a decent surface and the chances of the opposition batting well enough to stay in the game or indeed chase down anything above 200 on a fourth and fifth day pitch is minimal.
As was the case back in the summer, when England batted first they were generally able to dominate a strong Indian side but when India batted first in fair conditions at Trent Bridge, they took control of the game and went on to win the Test.
Having called right again in Galle, Root's canny knack of winning the toss might well prove the crucial factor in England completing a rare and remarkable series win in Sri Lanka.
Heads or Tails please...
Posted at 1700 GMT on 13/11/2018
