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New Zealand will host Sri Lanka in the second and final Test of the series from Friday, March 17 local time. The Test is scheduled to take place at Basin Reserve in Wellington. The home side New Zealand, who claimed a final-ball victory in the first game, head into the match as favourites with the odds of 8/13 (1.61). Sri Lanka have a steep task ahead of them as they have much higher odds of 15/2 (8.50) to win this game.
Check out NZ’s squad for Sri Lanka ODIs
These odds from Ladbrokes were correct at the time of writing.
- New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test
- March 16-20, 2023 – 10 PM GMT
- Basin Reserve, Wellington
Pitch Report and Weather Conditions
Contents
Basin Reserve should provide assistance for seamers with the new ball. Batters should get plenty of value for shots once the ball loses its shine. The average first and second innings scores at the venue read 309 and 316, respectively. The team batting first has won 29 matches here compared to 13 by the team batting first.
The forecast doesn’t look promising for the first two days of the match, with cloudy and windy weather expected in Wellington. There’s over 50% chance of precipitation on the first two days.
New Zealand vs Sri Lanka – Match Predictions
It has been a very lopsided rivalry when it comes to Test cricket in New Zealand. Sri Lanka haven’t won a Test match here since 2006. New Zealand have a pretty solid batting unit. Their bowling unit is depleted but is still decent enough to get the job done.
Prediction 1
Williamson to be New Zealand's top-scorer
3/1 (4.00)
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Odds from
Prediction 2
Henry to be New Zealand's Top Bowler
13/5 (3.60)
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Odds from
Top Run-scorer First Innings
Kane Williamson is coming off a magnificent century in the fourth innings of the last Test. He has been in terrific form and you can back him to be the top run-scorer in New Zealand’s first innings at 3/1 (4.00) odds. Angelo Mathews scored 47 and 115 in the first Test. At 100/30 (4.33) odds, he’s a good bet to be the Sri Lanka top batter in the first innings.
Our Prediction: Kane Williamson to be the top run-scorer for New Zealand in the first innings at 3/1 (4.00).
Top Wicket-taker First Innings
Matt Henry was superb for the home side in the first Test, picking seven wickets across two innings. The right arm seamer is a good bet to be the top wicket-taker for New Zealand at 13/5 (3.60). Asitha Fernando was the best bowler for Sri Lanka at Christchurch, claiming seven scalps. He has the odds of 9/4 (3.25) to be the top bowler for Sri Lanka.
Our Prediction: Matt Henry to be the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand in first innings at 13/5 (3.60).
Man of the Match
Daryl Mitchell has been in incredible form in the last year. He scored 102 and 81 in their victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test. He has the odds of 10/1 (11.00) to be the player of the match. Other top betting options include Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Angelo Mathews.
Our Prediction: Daryl Mitchell to be the Man of the Match at 10/1 (11.00) odds.
New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Preview
The Black Caps took a 1-0 lead in the first game and now they’ll be looking to seal the series. Let’s take a look at both teams before they meet at Wellington.
New Zealand
The Black Caps chased down 285 at Christchurch on the final ball of the match in a thrilling finish. Daryl Mitchell was superb with the bat in both innings while Williamson scored an unbeaten century to take his side over the line.
New Zealand won’t have Neil Wagner available for this game due to an injury. Doug Bracewell was called into the side as a replacement. The hosts are likely to field a bowling attack of Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Blair Tickner, Doug Bracewell and Michael Bracewell.
Squad: Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Michael Bracewell, Tim Southee (c), Matt Henry, Doug Bracewell, Blair Tickner
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s hopes of reaching the WTC final ended as they could not claim a victory in the first Test. They did give one heck of a challenge to the hosts though. Their batting unit posted over 300 in both innings while the bowlers did a pretty good job.
The visitors are likely to go in with the same playing XI. They have a pace attack of Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha while Prabath Jayasuriya handles the spin responsibility.
Squad: Oshada Fernando, Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Kasun Rajitha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara
How to Watch New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Test in the UK: Live Streaming & Channel List
The cricket fans in the UK can watch the live action of the second Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on BT Sport 3. You can also avail online streaming on BT Sport on any device.
- BT Sport 3 (TV)
- BT Sport (Streaming)
