New Zealand vs. Sri Lanka 2nd Test: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

New Zealand and Sri Lanka kick off 2015 with the second and final match of their Test series in Wellington.

The hosts won the first game comfortably by eight wickets and will be keen to take home the series win with either a win or draw.

Venue: Basin Reserve, Wellington

Date: Saturday, January 3 – Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Start time: 11 a.m. local time, 10 p.m. GMT (Friday, January 2)

Live on: CSN (Sri Lanka), TVNZ (New Zealand), Sky Sports (UK).

Weather: According to Weather.com, Wellington will be largely on the cloudy side, although with only a slight chance of rain. Temperatures will peak around 21 degrees Celsius.

Overview

New Zealand completed the best year ever in Test matches with their eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first game, their fifth victory in 2014.

The Black Caps were set up by 441 in their first innings, led by captain Brendon McCullum’s 195 and fifties from Kane Williamson and Jimmy Neesham.

In response, Sri Lanka were skittled for 138, as Trent Boult and Neil Wagner took three wickets apiece, with the visitors asked to follow on.

The Sri Lankans did better the second time around, with Dimuth Karunaratne scoring 152 to help them to 407, although that left the home side just 105 to win the game.

They eased home by eight wickets having lost both openers cheaply and now stand on the brink of a series victory ahead of this game.

In both sides’ opening game of 2015, they will be determined to start the year off on the right foot, especially with the ICC Cricket World Cup so close.

Team News

New Zealand (from): Brendon McCullum (capt), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling Kane Williamson

Sri Lanka (from): Angelo Mathews (capt), Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Pradeep, Rangana Herath, Prasanna Jayawardene, Dimuth Karunaratne, Tharindu Kaushal, Suranga Lakmal, Dilruwan Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Kumar Sangakkara, Kaushal Silva, Lahiru Thirimanne

Key Players

Brendon McCullum

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum had quite a 2014 and capped it off with 195 in the first Test to help his side to victory.

If he can maintain that form, the Black Caps will be in a strong position for another win.

Dimuth Karunaratne

In defeat, opener Dimuth Karunaratne looked mighty impressive in the second innings as he scored 152, his first Test century.

If the 26-year-old can recapture that form, the Sri Lankans will be well-placed to come back into this series.