SL vs AUS Today Match Prediction and Betting Tips, Odds and Live Score

SL vs AUS Match Prediction & Analysis

The first Test of this two-game series is one which Sri Lanka and the home supporters will want to forget in a hurry but the reality is that there could well still be some scarring in the minds of the players in the home dressing room ahead of this Test!

Australia won the toss and never looked back, showing that there is still plenty of value in the old Test cricket saying of 'bat once, bat big' as they posted 654/6 declared on their way to a victory by an innings and 242 runs.

Such was their dominance that they have already allowed young opener Sam Konstas to return to Australia ahead of this Test so he can practice red ball cricket in the Sheffield Shield and Steve Smith's team look full of confidence.

In the opposite corner, this Test will signal the end for Dimuth Kunaratne who has opted to retire from the format following this game. This will be the left-handed opener's 100th Test and he will be looking to add to his tally of 16 Test centuries.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

TEAMS PREVIEW

Sri Lanka Preview

Totals of 165 and 247 all out are never going to win any side a Test match and so it proved for Sri Lanka who were well short of their best against Australia last week.

Fortunately for the host, there is plenty of experience in their side and nearly all of their batters have fine records to fall back on. But there can be no excuses this time and it is imperative that Dinuth Karunaratne bows out on a high and the new kid on the block of Sri Lanka cricket, Kamindu Mendis, is able to find his form after a poor outing in Galle last week.

The bowlers will also need to raise their levels after struggling and toiling in the field in the first Test. They were put to the sword by the opening pair of Usman Khawaja and Travis Head and never recovered, so if Sri Lanka do find themselves in the field once again on day one then they must have some new ideas to make early inroads.

Prabath Jayasuriya and Jeffrey Vandersay both took three wickets last week and are likely to be the main threat once again.

Sri Lanka Predicted Playing XI:

Oshada Fernando, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kusal Mendis (wk), Prabath Jayasuriya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nishan Peiris, Asitha Fernando

Sri Lanka Key Players From Previous Game Of Australia tour of Sri Lanka, 2025 Batsmen R B 4s 6s SRs Dinesh Chandimal 72 139 9 0 51.8 Dhananjaya de Silva 22 34 3 0 64.71 Kusal Mendis 21 40 1 0 52.5 Bowlers O M R W Econ Prabath Jayasuriya 60.0 8 193 3 3.22 Jeffrey Vandersay 38.0 0 182 3 4.79 Kusal Mendis 0.0 0 0 0 0

Sri Lanka Actual Playing XI:

Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Lahiru Kumara, Ramesh Mendis

Australia Preview

Particularly in modern Test cricket and even more so when playing overseas, things rarely go as perfect as they went for Australia in the opening Test of the series! As such, they will know they must maintain their standards across the team in this game when they may not be so fortunate to win the toss and benefit from the best of the conditions.

Usman Khawaja (232), Steve Smith (141) and debutant Josh Inglis (102) all made centuries in Galle last week and the trio will all be desperate to get back in the middle in this game. Not that they are the only capable batters in the line-up as shown by Travis Head who hit aa half-century and was awarded the Allan Border Medal earlier this week due to his incredible cross-format performances over the last 12 months.

With the ball, we expect the spinners to once again be crucial and that means more overs and potentially another slew of wickets for both Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon.

Australia Predicted Playing XI:

Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Josh Inglis, Alex Carey (wk), Beau Webster, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon

Australia Key Players From Previous Game Of Australia tour of Sri Lanka, 2025 Batsmen R B 4s 6s SRs Usman Khawaja 232 352 16 0 65.91 Steven Smith 141 251 12 0 56.18 Josh Inglis 102 94 10 0 108.51 Bowlers O M R W Econ Matthew Kuhnemann 18.2 3 63 5 3.44 Nathan Lyon 20.0 3 57 3 2.85 Mitchell Starc 8.0 1 13 2 1.62

Australia Actual Playing XI:

Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cooper Connolly, Beau Webster, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

HR Temp Rain W. speed W. direction Clouds 00h 23 0 mm. 4.25 k/h From: ENE 54% 03h 25 0 mm. 3.87 k/h From: ENE 38% 06h 30 0 mm. 0.55 k/h From: NNW 43% 09h 29 0 mm. 4.03 k/h From: WSW 38% 12h 28 0.22 mm. 2.49 k/h From: SW 43% 15h 27 0.35 mm. 0.84 k/h From: E 78% 18h 25 0.17 mm. 1.68 k/h From: NE 97% 21h 24 0 mm. 0.67 k/h From: ENE 19%

Weather Conditions

The forecast is for another warm five days in Galle with the temperature predicted to be over 30 degrees across the entire Test match. There may be some short cloudy periods but no rain is forecast.

SL vs AUS Pitch Report

There is not a great deal of bounce in this wicket and the bowlers really have to work hard for their wickets. Batters with patience will succeed although they may need to take a different approach later in the game when the spinners come into their own.

Toss: To Bat

On a pitch which is likely to be best for batting on across the opening two days before turning a lot more from day three onwards, we expect both captains to be desperate to bat first when they go out for the toss.

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