By Harsha Amarasinghe 

Sri Lanka announced their playing XI for the crucial second Test match against New Zealand that gets underway at Galle International Stadium today. 

Off-spinner Nishan Peiris, who was brought into the Test Squad as an injury replacement for Vishwa Fernando (who was ruled out with a hamstring injury), is now set to make his debut against the likes of Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Rachin Ravindra and co. 

Ramesh Mendis though picked up six wickets in the first Test which Sri Lanka won by 63 wickets, has now been dropped from the team paving way to the debutant. So what went wrong for Ramesh Mendis?

Mendis having played 15 Test matches has been able to pick up 69 wickets but came under heavy criticism several times most notably from Piyal Wijetunga. 

However, the former Dharmasoka College star kept his place in the team by taking wickets in crucial games though he has been pretty inconsistent with his length a lot. 

Despite winning the first Test, Captain Dhananjaya de Silva and the coaching staff reportedly were unhappy with Mendis’ performance with leaking runs and releasing the pressure. 

The decision to bring in Peiris has solely been made in order to get more control especially on spin-friendly Galle wicket. 

What to expect from Peiris?

Peiris has been one of the most consistent performers in the domestic circuit having picked up over 170 wickets in 41 Test matches at an average of 24. 

He has been known to be a wicket-taker in domestic cricket but he will be tested against one of the most powerful batting units in world cricket today. 

New Zealand would look to put the pressure on the debutant trying to unsettle him but the Galle wicket always offers support for the spin. The first Test was played on a fairly decent wicket where batters were able to score big runs but with 1-0 lead and a shot at the World Test Championship, the second Test could be played on a wicket that may favour spin lot more than the first Test. 

Sri Lankan batting looked solid in the first Test - Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal making big contributions. 

Dimuthu Karunaratne who has been one of Sri Lanka’s best Test batsmen for the last decade or so, also returned to form with a gutsy half century in the second innings. 

Sri Lanka’s first innings total would have a significant impact on the outcome of the crucial second Test.