Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[synchronym]

Bangladesh improved a lot recently in the test format, but expecting them to win a series against a giant like India on their turf is a stretch. India is way, way stronger when compared to Pakistan and Bangladesh in the test format.

Bet on India outright to win this series. What I am interested in seeing is how some relatively new Indian players perform in the series.

Even if Bangladesh wins the Test series against Pakistan, it is not possible to say for sure that it will win the Test series against India, but it is expected that Bangladesh will perform better than before. Pakistan has performed much worse now than in the past as Pakistan lost the series with Bangladesh only because of poor performance of their players and some wrong decisions. However, Bangladesh will not win the series with India but there is a possibility of some draws and Bangladesh will learn from the Pakistan series and hopefully it will have a positive impact on the Indian series.

You are right, I agree with you. Bangladesh won this first test series against Pakistan because of Bangladesh team's excellent performance against Pakistan. Bangladesh won because of their excellent performance against Pakistan but it cannot be said with certainty that they will win against India. But it is expected that if Bangladesh can continue to perform well with the same batting and bowling as they did against Pakistan then surely the match against India can be competitive and the result of the match can be different. However Bangladesh players lack consistency in their performance but Bangladesh performed very well against Pakistan so we can expect Bangladesh to start the test match against India on good.

[LDL]

England team came into this test match they scored 325 runs and lost all the wickets, but in today's match Sri Lanka team will have enough chances as they are likely to draw the match. Because even though the past matches were lost by a wide margin, they have to put in a lot of effort in this match, because the Sri Lankan team will have to show enough opportunities to come out of the losing shell in today's match. But England team's bowling performance is good so England team is more likely to win if only the players stand.

When England started their second day with 3 for 225, it was by no means desirable to be bowled out for just 325 runs so quickly. England's new captain Ollie Pope played a brilliant innings and was bowled out for 325 runs on the back of his first century as captain and an innings of 154 runs. Today was the second day for the Sri Lankan bowlers but after bowling out England, Sri Lanka's first wicket fell on 34 runs as soon as the innings started, but today if Sri Lanka can cross the next station without losing a wicket then maybe this match will be a draw.

[Texac]

England team came into this test match they scored 325 runs and lost all the wickets, but in today's match Sri Lanka team will have enough chances as they are likely to draw the match. Because even though the past matches were lost by a wide margin, they have to put in a lot of effort in this match, because the Sri Lankan team will have to show enough opportunities to come out of the losing shell in today's match. But England team's bowling performance is good so England team is more likely to win if only the players stand.

When England started their second day with 3 for 225, it was by no means desirable to be bowled out for just 325 runs so quickly. England's new captain Ollie Pope played a brilliant innings and was bowled out for 325 runs on the back of his first century as captain and an innings of 154 runs. Today was the second day for the Sri Lankan bowlers but after bowling out England, Sri Lanka's first wicket fell on 34 runs as soon as the innings started, but today if Sri Lanka can cross the next station without losing a wicket then maybe this match will be a draw.

England started the second day very badly. I at least thought England would be able to muster 400+ in their first innings. But England's batsmen collected a total of only 325 runs. I wouldn't call it a bad collection though. Judging by the condition of the pitch, it was a fairly good collection. But if they can collect more than 400 then the road to win the match would be easier for England.

As usual we don't see Sri Lankan batsmen performing well in today's match. Sri Lanka lost four of their wickets to collect 91 runs. It will also be difficult for the Sri Lankan batsmen to collect more than 200.

[ZAINmalik75]

Today is the second day of the test match between England and Sri Lanka, it will start after around 2 hours. Last time, England lost their three wickets as one wicket they lost on the start but then Ben Duckett  played fast and tried to make his century but reach on 8 and lost his wicket, missed his century by 11 runs. With him, Ollie Pope is also playing well he was playing slow in the start but slowly he started to increase the pace and completed his century too. Joe Root has not score well. However Harry Brook  and Ollie Pope will open the game today, Sri Lanka must have to try to pick any wicket in the start to not let England fly away with this game.

SiriLankan failed to took important wicket at critical stages in order to restrict Ollie Pope for significant partnership and thus due to his vital innings English team scored 325 in first inning which Is I think enough for thier bowling lineup to defend because in thier recent matches thier opponent can't match the 300 digit. Anyway as for now SiriLankan team has lose their top order three wicket even scoring below 100 at very early stages. So I believe if some of their middle order mange to stay long and build partnership then may be such act will make things easy for them in second innings because thier vital innings will reduced pressure from them as much as possible. I know things are already out of thier hand as they already lose the series but such performance can safe them from white wash series which is looking like about to be possible.

[noormcs5]

England managed to score 325 and now the lunch break is underway after that we will see how Sri Lanka played this match with some improved and changed strategies. England is still the favourite to win this game and series by 3-0 but let's see if Lanka can push England on a back foot and win the last game.

Sri Lanka has lost their one wicket early on. Their bowlers picked up all the wickets of England batsmen somehow. Pathum Nissanka is playing fast that is good for the team but also remember he has to play safe because if he performs then it could break all the records.

Just have to play in calm mood. England team gave the target of 325 runs, he was playing good with Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne but after playing some balls these both players lost their wickets, they can’t play against the wonderful bowling of England team. Right now, he is playing with Angelo Mathews , hopefully he would not lose his wicket quickly.

[Popkon6]

England team came into this test match they scored 325 runs and lost all the wickets, but in today's match Sri Lanka team will have enough chances as they are likely to draw the match. Because even though the past matches were lost by a wide margin, they have to put in a lot of effort in this match, because the Sri Lankan team will have to show enough opportunities to come out of the losing shell in today's match. But England team's bowling performance is good so England team is more likely to win if only the players stand.

The Sri Lankan team will lose this match as the Test game usually requires a long performance by keeping wickets. But the Sri Lankan team has already lost 5 wickets, but the wickets have been lost by very aggressive batsmen. Only Pathum Nissanka scored 64 runs off 51 balls, the highest performance by the Sri Lankan team.
With such a performance it will never be possible to win with England team, because they will lose this series in a row, most likely, because those who performed well in other matches came to this match and got out with a bad performance. And the Sri Lankan team is now under a lot of pressure, so far the Sri Lankan team has scored 93 runs for five wickets in 17 overs.

[ibuddy122505]

England team came into this test match they scored 325 runs and lost all the wickets, but in today's match Sri Lanka team will have enough chances as they are likely to draw the match. Because even though the past matches were lost by a wide margin, they have to put in a lot of effort in this match, because the Sri Lankan team will have to show enough opportunities to come out of the losing shell in today's match. But England team's bowling performance is good so England team is more likely to win if only the players stand.

The Sri Lankan team will lose this match as the Test game usually requires a long performance by keeping wickets. But the Sri Lankan team has already lost 5 wickets, but the wickets have been lost by very aggressive batsmen. Only Pathum Nissanka scored 64 runs off 51 balls, the highest performance by the Sri Lankan team.
With such a performance it will never be possible to win with England team, because they will lose this series in a row, most likely, because those who performed well in other matches came to this match and got out with a bad performance. And the Sri Lankan team is now under a lot of pressure, so far the Sri Lankan team has scored 93 runs for five wickets in 17 overs.

Sri Lankan bowlers made a strong comeback in overcast conditions, bowling out England for 325 in their first innings at The Oval. However, Sri Lanka’s batting in their first innings is a bit of concerning.
It’s the typical reckless batting we've seen from Sri Lanka lately. I expect them to be bowled out before the end of the day. As you've said, they’re under a lot of pressure, and it seems likely they’ll collapse early.

[Cheema02]

Today is the second day of the test match between England and Sri Lanka, it will start after around 2 hours. Last time, England lost their three wickets as one wicket they lost on the start but then Ben Duckett  played fast and tried to make his century but reach on 8 and lost his wicket, missed his century by 11 runs. With him, Ollie Pope is also playing well he was playing slow in the start but slowly he started to increase the pace and completed his century too. Joe Root has not score well. However Harry Brook  and Ollie Pope will open the game today, Sri Lanka must have to try to pick any wicket in the start to not let England fly away with this game.

today, Sri Lanka bowlers bowled a magical spell and all out England at 325 runs. Milan Rathnayake bowling well picked 3 important wickets by just giving 56 runs only and Vishwa Fernando picked two wickets including one big wickets of Ollie Pope. Ollie Pope played an outstanding inning of 154 runs from 156 balls and reached the england total to 300 plus runs in first inning of match. Sri Lanka current score is 150 runs in a loss of 5 wickets. Sri Lanka trailed by 175 runs, which was very difficult for them because they had already lost five wickets. now Dhananjaya de Silva the captain of Sri lanka playing at 23 runs and Kamindu Mendis is at 36 runs. this partnership is more than 50 runs and is very crucial for Sri Lanka if they want to come back in this test match.

[Out of mind]

England batting in the first innings scored 325 runs, although England's batting performance was good. But on the second day in the first innings, the Sri Lankan team came out to bat, and they had already dismissed their opening batsmen and five wickets had fallen. In the beginning of today's match, Sri Lankan team did not perform very well, only Pathum Nissanka batted well and made the team a good score. Moreover, all the other players could not stay at the crease with the bat, due to which the Sri Lankan team's runs did not increase much today. However, as the partnership between Kamindu Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva has developed, they can put up a big score if they play today. Sri Lanka scored 174 runs with the loss of 5 wickets and they still need 151 runs to complete the lead given by England, if they can bat responsibly then it is definitely possible to reach this stage.

[HelliumZ]

Sri Lanka batting disaster especially Sri Lanka's current condition is 211 runs with 5 wickets falling. There are still 26 overs to be played before the end of the third session, but play has been stopped so far due to poor lighting conditions. But if the game starts in the third session then there is a possibility that Sri Lanka will be all out by today. Dhananjaya Silva and Kamindu Mendis put on a partnership of 118 runs but Sri Lanka would have been all out by now had they not been able to form a partnership. However, if Sri Lanka were all out today, if England could have batted for the full day tomorrow, there would have been a possibility of winning or losing the match on the fourth day.

[Crypto Library]

Sri Lanka batting disaster especially Sri Lanka's current condition is 211 runs with 5 wickets falling. There are still 26 overs to be played before the end of the third session, but play has been stopped so far due to poor lighting conditions. But if the game starts in the third session then there is a possibility that Sri Lanka will be all out by today. Dhananjaya Silva and Kamindu Mendis put on a partnership of 118 runs but Sri Lanka would have been all out by now had they not been able to form a partnership. However, if Sri Lanka were all out today, if England could have batted for the full day tomorrow, there would have been a possibility of winning or losing the match on the fourth day.

I would not call their batting performance a disaster batting performance.  Because according to the Test format, Sri Lanka scored 211 runs and only 45 overs.  It can't be called bad even though their early wickets have fallen, they still have five wickets to spare.

Honestly it was the opposite of what I was expecting because I thought the England team could cross 400 runs in this match but they couldn't do it towards the last as their early wicket fell.  However, 325 runs is not bad, but if Sri Lanka continues to bat like this, they have the possibility to take the lead. Today Sri Lankan top order batsmen and iron order batsmen are performing well let's see how the outcome is.  But still I am willing to consider the England team as the winner.

[Farhan99]

England team came into this test match they scored 325 runs and lost all the wickets, but in today's match Sri Lanka team will have enough chances as they are likely to draw the match. Because even though the past matches were lost by a wide margin, they have to put in a lot of effort in this match, because the Sri Lankan team will have to show enough opportunities to come out of the losing shell in today's match. But England team's bowling performance is good so England team is more likely to win if only the players stand.

The Sri Lankan team will lose this match as the Test game usually requires a long performance by keeping wickets. But the Sri Lankan team has already lost 5 wickets, but the wickets have been lost by very aggressive batsmen. Only Pathum Nissanka scored 64 runs off 51 balls, the highest performance by the Sri Lankan team.
With such a performance it will never be possible to win with England team, because they will lose this series in a row, most likely, because those who performed well in other matches came to this match and got out with a bad performance. And the Sri Lankan team is now under a lot of pressure, so far the Sri Lankan team has scored 93 runs for five wickets in 17 overs.

Yeah, in 2nd day England posted 325 runs in first innings skipper Ollie Pope played brilliant innings of 154 runs and ben duckett with 86 runs are top scorer from England team. Milan Rathnayake takes three wickets Sri lanka is on the way 211 runs with loss of 5 wickets and Day 2 stumps off SriLankaa team lost their wickets early then 6th wicket partnership of 118 runs between Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis continues both players took the pressure off their team the most important thing in test matches is to build a big partnership if you build a good partnership so automatic pressure builds on opposite team. Captain de silva is playing with 64 runs which helped their team to take this lead Sri lanka team 114 runs behind and five wickets in hand now

[Rustam Meraj]

Yeah, in 2nd day England posted 325 runs in first innings skipper Ollie Pope played brilliant innings of 154 runs and ben duckett with 86 runs are top scorer from England team. Milan Rathnayake takes three wickets Sri lanka is on the way 211 runs with loss of 5 wickets and Day 2 stumps off SriLankaa team lost their wickets early then 6th wicket partnership of 118 runs between Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis continues both players took the pressure off their team the most important thing in test matches is to build a big partnership if you build a good partnership so automatic pressure builds on opposite team. Captain de silva is playing with 64 runs which helped their team to take this lead Sri lanka team 114 runs behind and five wickets in hand now

In my point of view Srilanka is going well at this time because they have 114 runs trial. And if they will continue this partnership well on Third day so I hope they will make a little lead to England and if they will make lead of 100 runs almost so they will have a chance of winning. Means if they will make a lead of 100 runs and England gives a target of 200+ runs so this will not be a big target and Srilanka can chase that target easily if they will not get out earlier. But I think they can win this match. So let's hope they will win this match after losing two matches.

[Bitcoin_people]

Sri Lanka batting disaster especially Sri Lanka's current condition is 211 runs with 5 wickets falling. There are still 26 overs to be played before the end of the third session, but play has been stopped so far due to poor lighting conditions. But if the game starts in the third session then there is a possibility that Sri Lanka will be all out by today. Dhananjaya Silva and Kamindu Mendis put on a partnership of 118 runs but Sri Lanka would have been all out by now had they not been able to form a partnership. However, if Sri Lanka were all out today, if England could have batted for the full day tomorrow, there would have been a possibility of winning or losing the match on the fourth day.

Sri Lanka still need to collect 114 runs to meet the target of going to England. However, Sri Lanka are very likely to be all out on the third day and if they can't increase their runs and give away to England, something bad awaits them. However we saw that Sri Lanka are in good form after losing five wickets and Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva formed a great batting partnership on the second day. Based on the partnership of these two players, the Sri Lankan team has progressed well but if this match starts today, the Sri Lankan team will definitely be all out. However, if Sri Lanka go all out in today's match, England looks sure to perform well, and if they can put up a big score, who will lose the match more likely.

[Texac]

Sri Lanka batting disaster especially Sri Lanka's current condition is 211 runs with 5 wickets falling. There are still 26 overs to be played before the end of the third session, but play has been stopped so far due to poor lighting conditions. But if the game starts in the third session then there is a possibility that Sri Lanka will be all out by today. Dhananjaya Silva and Kamindu Mendis put on a partnership of 118 runs but Sri Lanka would have been all out by now had they not been able to form a partnership. However, if Sri Lanka were all out today, if England could have batted for the full day tomorrow, there would have been a possibility of winning or losing the match on the fourth day.

Sri Lanka still need to collect 114 runs to meet the target of going to England. However, Sri Lanka are very likely to be all out on the third day and if they can't increase their runs and give away to England, something bad awaits them. However we saw that Sri Lanka are in good form after losing five wickets and Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva formed a great batting partnership on the second day. Based on the partnership of these two players, the Sri Lankan team has progressed well but if this match starts today, the Sri Lankan team will definitely be all out. However, if Sri Lanka go all out in today's match, England looks sure to perform well, and if they can put up a big score, who will lose the match more likely.

Sri Lanka played better than I expected. On the other hand, none of the batsmen in England's squad can bat well except ben Duckett and Pope. I didn't think England's experienced midfield would break down so quickly. After losing 5 wickets for just 93 runs, Sri Lanka now collect 211 runs. Dhananjaya De Silva and Kamindu Mendis are batting very responsibly. Silva remains unbeaten with 64 runs and mendis 54 runs. If this pair can bat well today, the Sri Lankan team will be able to take a decent lead. It will not be easy for the Sri Lankan batsmen to stay at the crease in the first session of the third day.

[Fuso.hp]

After completing a great test series against Pakistan, Team Bangladesh is all set to start their next journey in the Test Championship. Bangladesh's next mission is to win the series against India. India is definitely the favorite on Indian soil, especially if the opponent is Bangladesh, then their chances of winning are very high, but India is not taking Bangladesh as an easy opponent at all. India's wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant said there is no chance of taking Bangladesh lightly. Bangladesh has been doing well in batting and bowling recently so all the best for Bangladesh, hope Bangladesh will secure a good result against India.

Yeh they are doing really great so thier is no chance to take Bangladesh lightly or underestimated them, because Pakistan team does same and we have thier brutal defeat results for a first them in history of Bangladesh cricket, before that Pakistan never ever lose a single test match or series against Bangladesh but for this time things goes in favor of Bangladesh because they really done spectacular in both department of bowling and batting while on the other side due to bad captaincy and bad batting form of Pakistani top and middle order cost them that brutal defeat. Anyway indian recently lose an entire series against SiriLankan team so things can goes in anyone favor whome does best at that day.

First, the Pakistan team treated Bangladesh lightly. Since Bangladesh is weak in Test format, Pakistan thought that Pakistan will be able to easily defeat Bangladesh team. But in the first match Bangladeshi batsmen and bowlers showed surprise. As a result, Bangladesh was able to defeat Pakistan easily.

Bangladeshi players were confident in the second match as well. And Bangladesh team also won the second match by performing well. And they have proved that this squad is not to be underestimated. Along with senior players, young players are now able to perform quite well.

Bangladesh has always been weak in the Test format. In the two Test matches that Bangladesh played against Pakistan, the Bangladesh team must have taken it lightly in the first innings of the pair of Test matches, as a result of which Bangladesh gave Pakistan two defeats. When a team enters the field as an opponent, there is never a chance to take that team lightly. If the weakest team plays against the strongest team, then for that match only, the weaker team should be considered as the strongest opponent of the stronger team and should perform at their best accordingly. India must have seen how Bangladesh performed in batting and bowling against Pakistan, so India will take their main team to play against Bangladesh and they will surely consider Bangladesh as a strong opponent.

[minairia3]

After completing a great test series against Pakistan, Team Bangladesh is all set to start their next journey in the Test Championship. Bangladesh's next mission is to win the series against India. India is definitely the favorite on Indian soil, especially if the opponent is Bangladesh, then their chances of winning are very high, but India is not taking Bangladesh as an easy opponent at all. India's wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant said there is no chance of taking Bangladesh lightly. Bangladesh has been doing well in batting and bowling recently so all the best for Bangladesh, hope Bangladesh will secure a good result against India.

Yeh they are doing really great so thier is no chance to take Bangladesh lightly or underestimated them, because Pakistan team does same and we have thier brutal defeat results for a first them in history of Bangladesh cricket, before that Pakistan never ever lose a single test match or series against Bangladesh but for this time things goes in favor of Bangladesh because they really done spectacular in both department of bowling and batting while on the other side due to bad captaincy and bad batting form of Pakistani top and middle order cost them that brutal defeat. Anyway indian recently lose an entire series against SiriLankan team so things can goes in anyone favor whome does best at that day.

First, the Pakistan team treated Bangladesh lightly. Since Bangladesh is weak in Test format, Pakistan thought that Pakistan will be able to easily defeat Bangladesh team. But in the first match Bangladeshi batsmen and bowlers showed surprise. As a result, Bangladesh was able to defeat Pakistan easily.

Bangladeshi players were confident in the second match as well. And Bangladesh team also won the second match by performing well. And they have proved that this squad is not to be underestimated. Along with senior players, young players are now able to perform quite well.

Bangladesh has always been weak in the Test format. In the two Test matches that Bangladesh played against Pakistan, the Bangladesh team must have taken it lightly in the first innings of the pair of Test matches, as a result of which Bangladesh gave Pakistan two defeats. When a team enters the field as an opponent, there is never a chance to take that team lightly. If the weakest team plays against the strongest team, then for that match only, the weaker team should be considered as the strongest opponent of the stronger team and should perform at their best accordingly. India must have seen how Bangladesh performed in batting and bowling against Pakistan, so India will take their main team to play against Bangladesh and they will surely consider Bangladesh as a strong opponent.

Bangladesh would win the series against Pakistan in Test format and that too in Pakistan's home match which was incredible. Bangladesh cannot play well against Afghanistan or Zimbabwe in Test format. But there is no denying that the Bangladeshi players have played brilliantly in this series. In the first match, this team collected 568 runs in the first innings. Again, in the first innings of the second match, this team was able to make a big collection even after losing 6 wickets for only 26 runs. Almost every player in the Bangladesh squad has performed well in this series. The performances of Mushfiqur, Miraz and Liton in particular were the best. Bangladesh is going to face Mighty India in the next series. Even if they can win against Pakistan, it will probably not be possible for Bangladesh to win against India.

[AirtelBuzz]

After completing a great test series against Pakistan, Team Bangladesh is all set to start their next journey in the Test Championship. Bangladesh's next mission is to win the series against India. India is definitely the favorite on Indian soil, especially if the opponent is Bangladesh, then their chances of winning are very high, but India is not taking Bangladesh as an easy opponent at all. India's wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant said there is no chance of taking Bangladesh lightly. Bangladesh has been doing well in batting and bowling recently so all the best for Bangladesh, hope Bangladesh will secure a good result against India.

Yeh they are doing really great so thier is no chance to take Bangladesh lightly or underestimated them, because Pakistan team does same and we have thier brutal defeat results for a first them in history of Bangladesh cricket, before that Pakistan never ever lose a single test match or series against Bangladesh but for this time things goes in favor of Bangladesh because they really done spectacular in both department of bowling and batting while on the other side due to bad captaincy and bad batting form of Pakistani top and middle order cost them that brutal defeat. Anyway indian recently lose an entire series against SiriLankan team so things can goes in anyone favor whome does best at that day.

First, the Pakistan team treated Bangladesh lightly. Since Bangladesh is weak in Test format, Pakistan thought that Pakistan will be able to easily defeat Bangladesh team. But in the first match Bangladeshi batsmen and bowlers showed surprise. As a result, Bangladesh was able to defeat Pakistan easily.

Bangladeshi players were confident in the second match as well. And Bangladesh team also won the second match by performing well. And they have proved that this squad is not to be underestimated. Along with senior players, young players are now able to perform quite well.

Bangladesh has always been weak in the Test format. In the two Test matches that Bangladesh played against Pakistan, the Bangladesh team must have taken it lightly in the first innings of the pair of Test matches, as a result of which Bangladesh gave Pakistan two defeats. When a team enters the field as an opponent, there is never a chance to take that team lightly. If the weakest team plays against the strongest team, then for that match only, the weaker team should be considered as the strongest opponent of the stronger team and should perform at their best accordingly. India must have seen how Bangladesh performed in batting and bowling against Pakistan, so India will take their main team to play against Bangladesh and they will surely consider Bangladesh as a strong opponent.

The current performance of the Bangladesh team in the Test format does not seem to suggest that they are still weak in the Test format as always.The way Bangladesh cricket team miserably whitewashed Pakistan was unbelievable. Maybe the Bangladesh team is slowly trying to adjust themselves properly with the Test format. See the overall performance of all Bangladeshi players in the Test series between Bangladesh and Pakistan was excellent. I didn't see a bad performance from any player, everyone gave their best performance against Pakistan.

Bangladesh will travel to India to play the upcoming Test series against India, the series may not be easy for Bangladesh. Still I want Bangladesh to go ahead in that series as their excellent performance against Pakistan in the recently concluded series might give them confidence to perform well. Moreover, currently the Bangladesh team is a balanced team, they are equally efficient in all units of batting, spin bowling and pace bowling.

[noormcs5]

England batting in the first innings scored 325 runs, although England's batting performance was good. But on the second day in the first innings, the Sri Lankan team came out to bat, and they had already dismissed their opening batsmen and five wickets had fallen. In the beginning of today's match, Sri Lankan team did not perform very well, only Pathum Nissanka batted well and made the team a good score. Moreover, all the other players could not stay at the crease with the bat, due to which the Sri Lankan team's runs did not increase much today. However, as the partnership between Kamindu Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva has developed, they can put up a big score if they play today. Sri Lanka scored 174 runs with the loss of 5 wickets and they still need 151 runs to complete the lead given by England, if they can bat responsibly then it is definitely possible to reach this stage.

England made 325 which I thought was on the lower side. Sri Lanka batted reasonably well and they now just trail by 114 runs. Sri Lanka needed just one or two good partnerships and they will get to this score. First Pathum Nissanka played a brilliant innings of 64 at the start of the innings. Later Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis formed a crucial partnership when Sri Lanka were struggling at 93 for 5 wickets down. Both of these players are not out, meaning they will continue the Sri Lanka innings today and as long as they are not out, Sri Lanka will have a very good chance to not only come close to England's total but at the same time take the lead.

Dhananjaya de Silva is batting on 69 and he is playing a captain's knock.

[Popkon6]

The partnership formed in the Sri Lankan team is currently the longest, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis have formed a partnership of 118 runs. Coming into their third Test match, they are having the toughest time against the challengers, but they are fighting hard enough to level the match at present. However, if he can perform well in today's match, then there will definitely be enough chances to bring the match on time.

Sri Lanka have collected 211 runs for 5 wickets in 45 overs, and Sri Lanka need only 114 runs to complete the target of 325 runs given by England. So today's match will be even, this first innings match is under the control of Sri Lankan team so far Sri Lankan team players should feel very lucky.