ENG vs SL Match Prediction- 1st Test, Sri Lanka Tour of England 2024

England and Sri Lanka begin their Test campaign with the opening clash on Wednesday, August 21. The venue of the ENG vs SL 1st Test is Emirates Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester.

Both sides will face each other for the second time at the stadium with the previous clash in 2002. Both teams grabbed a whitewash in their last Test series. Below we talk about ENG vs SL prediction.

ENG vs SL Team Analysis

England

Ollie Pope is the captain of England in the Test series. They are short of skipper Ben Stokes but have all of their key members on the side.

Sri Lanka

Dhananjaya de Silva is the skipper of Sri Lanka in the series. They have a strong squad and also won their previous away series against Bangladesh.

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ENG vs SL Key Factors

Pitch Conditions

The ENG vs SL 1st Test takes place at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester. The stadium is batting-friendly and offers benefits to seamers.

Form and Fitness

Ben Stokes is out of the England squad but the rest of the players are available for the first game. Sri Lanka has no cases of injuries. Further reports are awaited.

Tactical Acumen

England- England has the home advantage and they are very strong at their home. They have also defeated Sri Lanka in all five recent encounters.

Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka has a better rank on the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 points table and they also won their last series against Bangladesh. They have more experienced Test players than England.

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ENG vs SL Match Prediction- 1st Test, Sri Lanka Tour of England 2024

ENG vs SL Score Prediction

Players to perform prediction

ENG- Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, and Joe Root are some popular players in the ENG squad.

SL- Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kasun Rajitha, and Lahiru Kumara are key names in the Sri Lanka squad.

ENG vs SL Best Batsman Prediction

Who will score the most runs for ENG in the match: Ollie Pope or Joe Root

Who will score the most runs for SL in the match: Kusal Mendis or Pathum Nissanka

ENG vs SL Best Bowler Prediction

Who will pick the most wickets for ENG in the match: Mark Wood or Gus Atkinson

Who will pick the most wickets for SL in the match: Kasun Rajitha or Lahiru Kumara

Who will win the Match?

England is highly likely to crush Sri Lanka in the match as they are among the most dominating sides in Test cricket currently. Also, with the home advantage, the Englishmen are far more stronger in the ENG vs SL Test series.

Conclusion

England defeated West Indies in all three games in the last Test series at home. It will be interesting to see if they can repeat that performance against Sri Lanka too. It will be also interesting to see how they perform in the absence of Ben Stokes.