Sri Lanka name Nissanka as Mendis’ replacement for the Lord’s Test

After a tough nervy loss in Manchester the other day, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bowl first in the second Test here at Lord’s.

Sri Lanka have lost two out of its last five games, while England have only lost one Test in its last five. The visitors would want to win this Test and equal the series. However, it is bright and sunny at Lord’s, unlike the gloomy and overcast conditions that we normally associate it with. 

Results at Lord’s

Batting first: 2

Batting second: 1

*All results since 2023

Here’s what the two captains had to say

Dhananjaya de Silva: There is always swing in the first hour. Nissanka has been in good form in white-ball cricket, and we need 20 wickets to win so Lahiru is a good option. Gameplan-wise, the same, but we need to execute better.

Ollie Pope: "We were going to have a bat, at Lord's, we look up, happy to be batting, we've done what we wanted to do both times. Slightly different conditions here, more English, a quicker outfield. We'll see."

What’s the playing XI for both teams

England have one forced change: Olly Stone has replaced the injured Mark Wood in the playing XI.

England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Daniel Lawrence, Ollie Pope(c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Shoaib Bashir

On the other hand, Sri Lanka has one change: Pathum Nissanka has replaced Kusal Mendis, who missed the first Test. 

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Nishan Madushka (wk), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Prabath Jayasuriya, Kamindu Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake

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