Big picture: Shades of 2019 in 2024
A lot has happened since New Zealand last toured Sri Lanka. Back then, in 2019, the world was yet to be introduced to Covid-19, while the Lankans were only just recovering from Rangana Herath's retirement. Fast forward to the present, the pandemic is firmly in the rearview while Herath is gearing up to for duty as New Zealand's spin-bowling coach.
That said, similarities also abound from that last tour. For one, like then, Sri Lanka enter buoyed by a historic result overseas - then it was a momentous series win in South Africa, and in 2024 it's a consolatory Test win in England to cap off a hard-fought tour. The 2019 series was also held in a presidential election year, though that one was not nearly as imminent as the one set to interrupt the first Test with a rest day.
This is also still, largely, that same New Zealand outfit - barring a few retirements, a few new faces and a bit more grey hair. It's also one that might be a little undercooked in terms of where they might like to be in preparation for their run at this cycle of the World Test Championship.
A washed-out Test against Afghanistan earlier this month means the last time New Zealand played a Test was in March, while they haven't had a competitive fixture since the World Cup in June.
They're still nominally well-placed in the WTC standings in third place, with three wins and three losses, but two Tests in spin-friendly Galle - where they've never won - followed by three more in India reads a fairly tall task.
As for Sri Lanka, they've had a fairly rollercoaster year. Good performances in the early part of the year against Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Bangladesh were juxtaposed by a horror T20 World Cup showing, which was then followed by a quite excellent ODI series win against India at home. In England too, they were in danger of being embarrassed but a splendid display in the third Test ensured they would come into this home series with that winning bounce.
That last win could still prove pivotal in their quest for an unlikely WTC final berth, with four of their next six Tests at home. The weather, however, might be following the visitors over from Greater Noida in India, with rain expected across the first Test.
Form guide
Sri Lanka: WLLWW (last five Tests, most recent first)
New Zealand: DLLWW
In the spotlight: Jayasuriya and Ravindra
When it comes to Galle-related threats, there's nowhere else to start than Prabath Jayasuriya. Of his eight home Tests, six have been at Galle, where he boasts a preposterous record of 53 wickets across 12 innings. In half of those innings, he's grabbed at least five wickets, while only once has he picked up less than a three-for. Jayasuriya was sidelined for the tour of England, not even playing in the final Test, and he'll be keen to seize the spotlight once more.
Rachin Ravindra has already made his mark in white-ball cricket but his Test career is still fledgling. Even so, with a double-ton to his name and batting in that crucial number four position, he is undoubtedly an integral cog in New Zealand's setup - for the present and the future - but where he might be of particular use is in the subcontinent. Five of his seven Tests have been played at home, and so he is relatively untested on Asian tracks, but his combination of left-arm orthodox spin and strong batting fundamentals means he has all the ingredients to translate that strong home form into away returns.
Team news: Who will be NZ's second seamer?
Oshada Fernando is back in the Test squad for the first time in over the year, but Sri Lanka have opted not to change up a winning combination, at least in terms of the batting. Kusal Mendis will take the gloves but as a result, will not bat at no.3. This will see Dinesh Chandimal pushed up the order, while Mendis will move lower down the order to no.7. Spin will be front and centre, so Ramesh Mendis will offer support to Prabath Jayasuriya.
Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kusal Mendis (wk), 8 Ramesh Mendis, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Lahiru Kumara
Much of New Zealand's playing XI picks itself, with part-time spin options aplenty to support Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel. There are only question marks over the second seam option alongside Tim Southee.
New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Matt Henry/Ben Sears/Will O'Rourke, 11 Ajaz Patel.
Pitch and conditions: Rain on the horizon
There's rain expected across all five days of the Test, including the rest day on day four. With the Galle surface usually deteriorating by days four and five, winning the toss and batting first is almost mandatory.
Stats and trivia
Only on five occasions has the side winning the toss opted not to bat first in Galle, they've won on two of those.
Lahiru Kumara is four wickets away from becoming the eighth Sri Lankan to 100 Test wickets.
Henry Nicholls is 27 runs short of 3,000 Test runs.
New Zealand have lost all four Tests they've played in Galle.
Tim Southee's 64 wickets is the highest by an active player against Sri Lanka, though only 19 of those have come away.
Quotes
"Chandimal took up the gloves and played in the middle order for the sake of the team, but he won't be keeping in this Test, which means he will move up to number three. Whoever takes up the gloves will bat in the lower middle order." - Sri Lanka interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya explains new batting positions for Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal.
"Having just his experience and knowledge of conditions here in this part of the world, and particularly a ground that he had a lot of success on, has been great. Our guys have been working closely with him and it's nice to have that knowledge floating around the changing room." - New Zealand captain Tim Southee is grateful for Rangana Herath's expertise as spin-bowling coach.
