India have won the toss and have opted to bat. This is second consecutive successful toss by Indian Captain Virat Kohli. The Indian opener KL Rahul is back in the squad in the place of Abhinav Mukund.
Kohli: “Always feels good to win the toss. We will bat first.The surface looks nice and rolled in, plus some grass to keep it together. We have recovered well and understood the importance of rest too. The practice sessions have been short and sharp, and we are very well prepared going into this Test. Abhinav Mukund misses out, and the rest we are playing the same team. KL is our champion opener but Abhinav understands the dynamics of how a team works.”
India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav
Chandimal: “Much better now. Was a tough time for me and my family, the last 10 days. India played really good cricket in Galle but you just have to take the positives out of the game. As a batter, if you get a start, you need to score big guns, like Shikhar did in the first game. Bowlers need to stick to their plans. Looks like a dry surface but looking forward to keeping them to a minimum. We have three changes. Malinda Pushpakumara will make his debut today.”
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Dimuth Karunaratne, Upul Tharanga, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal(c), Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Malinda Pushpakumara, Nuwan Pradeep