Ramesh Mendis pays price for testing inconsistency – Latest News

Sri Lanka have announced their starting XI for the crucial second Test match against New Zealand, starting at the Galle International Stadium.

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), will now make his debut against the likes of Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Ravin Rachindra and co.

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

After playing 15 Test matches, Mendis managed to take 69 wickets, but came under heavy criticism on several occasions, particularly from Piyal Wijetunga.

However, the former Dharmasoka College star retained his place in the team by taking wickets in crucial games despite often being quite inconsistent with his length.

Despite winning the first Test, captain Dhananjaya de Silva and the coaching staff were reportedly unhappy with Mendis' performance as they lost runs and the pressure waned.

The decision to field Peiris was made solely to gain more control, particularly over the spin-friendly Galle wicket.

• What can you expect from Peiris?

Peiris was one of the most consistent players in the domestic league, taking over 170 wickets at an average of 24 in 41 Test matches.

He is known as a wicket-taker in domestic cricket but he will be tested today against one of the strongest batting units in world cricket.

New Zealand would look to put pressure on the debutant and unsettle him but the Galle wicket always provides support for spin. The first Test was played on a pretty good wicket where batters could score big runs, but with a 1-0 lead and a shot in the World Test Championship, the second Test could be played on a wicket that could favor spin much more as the first test.

Sri Lanka's batting looked solid in the first Test – Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal made big contributions.

Dimuthu Karunaratne, who has been one of Sri Lanka's best Test batsmen for about a decade, 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.