Sri Lanka decide to bat on Afridi’s Test return
Toss Sri Lanka selected to bat vs Pakistan
Sri Lanka selected to bat within the sequence opener in Galle for the two-Test sequence. With the Galle floor normally taking progressively extra flip as the sport wears on, Pakistan must metal themselves to bat final on a deteriorating floor.
“We know how it’s going to be later – it’s going to be turning – so we want to get the best out of the batting conditions,” was Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne’s reasoning on his resolution.
In phrases of staff news, there aren’t any surprises for the hosts. They go in with two seamers in Kasun Rajitha and Vishwa Fernando, whereas Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis would be the main spin-bowling choices.
For the guests, the large news is that Shaheen Shah Afridi makes his return to the Test aspect after a 12 months out injured. Lots may also rely upon spinners Abrar Ahmed and Nauman Ali, and the way nicely they will exploit the situations.
As for the pitch, whereas there would be the anticipated activate the fourth and fifth days, it needs to be good for batting on the primary and second days. There is, nevertheless, anticipated to be one thing in it for the seamers on a windy first morning.
Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), 2 Nishan Madushka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), 8 Ramesh Mendis, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Kasun Rajitha, 11 Vishwa Fernando
Pakistan: 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Shan Masood, 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), 6 Saud Shakeel, 7 Agha Salman, 8 Nauman Ali, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Abrar Ahmed, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi