India captain Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bat first against Sri Lanka in the opening Test of the two-match series at Galle on Saturday morning.
It was only Gill’s third toss won in nine Tests as captain. ESPNcricinfo reported that the Galle pitch carried an even grass covering with no dry patches, and was expected to offer some seam movement early before easing out as the moisture dried.
Nuwantha handed debut ahead of Ramesh Mendis
Sri Lanka made the more surprising selection call, giving a Test debut to 25-year-old offspinner Keshara Nuwantha in preference to Ramesh Mendis. Nishan Madushka came in for the injured opener Pathum Nissanka, and Niroshan Dickwella returned to the side for his first Test in three years, keeping wicket. Dhananjaya de Silva captains the hosts.
India replaced the injured B. Sai Sudharsan with another left-hand batter at No. 3 in Devdutt Padikkal. Their attack went along expected lines, with three left-arm spinners — including Kuldeep Yadav — alongside seamers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.
Two milestones at a single venue
The match is India’s 600th Test, making them the third team to reach that mark, according to Ada Derana. The fixture is also the 50th Test staged at Galle, which becomes the first venue in Asia to host 50 matches in the format.
Both sides need a sweep
Neither team can afford a slip in the World Test Championship race. Both are stranded in the middle of the standings and need a 2-0 series sweep to keep a realistic chance of reaching the WTC final. India sit fifth after four wins, four defeats and a draw from nine matches.
Sri Lanka XI: Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Keshara Nuwantha, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara.
India XI: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill (capt), Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
