Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live updates from the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at the scenic venue of Galle. I am Vishal Mehra and I will be your host for the day. Isn’t it at the Emerald Island where all the goods started for Team India in 2015? Virat Kohli’s men came back from a defeat in the first Test to clinch the series 2-1. It also meant that India had won a Test series in Sri Lanka after 22 years. Sri Lanka may not have a dismal record at home but they are not quite the force they once were. The rebuilding Sri Lankan side are not perhaps a unit that can upset India but their inspiring win over Zimbabwe will give them some confidence as they step out on the field against the No.1 Test side. Full cricket scorecard: India Men vs Sri Lanka Men, 1st Test match
Post the coach-captain drama, the CAC-BCCI controversy, the hype around women’s cricket, it is finally time for Kohli’s men to get into action and get things done on field. They have a new head coach at helm in Ravi Shastri. Sri Lanka had won the Galle Test in 2015 but the absence of that game’s hero — Dinesh Chandimal, is a huge blow for the hosts. They now rely on the stand-in skipper Rangana Herath. The left-arm spinner will have to stand tall if Sri Lanka have to come close in repeating what they did against Australia (3-0) last year.
All is not well in the Indian camp as well, India will step out without their regular openers Murali Vijay and KL Rahul. This presents Shikhar Dhawan an opportunity to re-establish himself in the longer format. He can draw some confidence from the fact that his last Test hundred came at this very venue. He will be partnered by southpaw Abhinav Mukund. All eyes will also be on Ravichandran Ashwin, who will be playing his 50th Test here. The pitch is expected to be good for batting and there are some showers expected as well.
Squads:
India Men: Virat Kohli (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Shikhar Dhawan
Sri Lanka Men: Rangana Herath (c), Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Kusal Mendis (wk), Upul Tharanga (wk), Dimuth Karunaratne (wk), Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Malinda Pushpakumara
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