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Sri Lanka
India
Sri Lanka and India will begin the two-match Test series at the Galle International Stadium, with both teams looking for a strong start. India will enter the match with 3 wins and 2 losses from their last 5 Tests, while Sri Lanka will have 1 win, 2 draws and 2 losses in the same period.
Dhananjaya de Silva will lead Sri Lanka, while Shubman Gill will captain India. India are 5th in the WTC standings with 4 wins and 4 losses from 8 matches, while Sri Lanka are 6th with 1 win and 1 loss from 4 games.
India have the better recent head-to-head record, with 3 wins and 2 draws from the last 5 meetings. They also won the previous series 2-0 in 2022. Despite limited Test cricket in recent months, India's squad depth will make them the favourites in Galle.
Indiaβs top order has more proven Test batting depth, with Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal giving them a strong edge over Sri Lankaβs batting unit.
The betting tip is...
Top Batter's Team - India
76 %
24 %
Sri LankaIndiaNiroshan Dickwella returns to the Sri Lanka Test squad after 3 years and replaces the injured Kusal Mendis, while Pathum Nissanka is unavailable after wrist surgery. Uncapped Keshara Nuwantha and Pasindu Sooriyabandara were also included, with Nuwantha taking 5 for 159 against India A and 3 for 97 in the tour game.
Dilshan Madushanka returns after playing only one Test in 2023, where he did not take a wicket. Sri Lanka selected four specialist quicks, with Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando and Madushanka competing for places, while Milan Rathnayaka provided another seam option.
Prabath Jayasuriya remains the lead spinner, with Ramesh Mendis and Nuwantha also in contention. Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva are expected to bat at Nos. 3, 4 and 5.
Dickwella, Chandimal and Mendis are the key batters in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Niroshan Dickwella, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Milan Rathnayaka, Lahiru Udara, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Prabath Jayasuriya
India are without Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who were ruled out with hamstring and quadriceps injuries, respectively. Washington Sundar will also miss the first Test due to a hamstring injury, while Akash Deep remains sidelined due to a stress reaction in his back.
Yashasvi Jaiswal returns to action after missing Indiaβs tours of the UK and Zimbabwe and scored 61 off 46 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes before retiring out.
Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar also retired out after scoring 22 and 4. Mohammed Siraj then hit 3 sixes to seal the victory in the tour game. Auqib Nabi has replaced the injured Jasprit Bumrah, while Sarfaraz Khan replaces Sai Sudharsan. Sarfaraz had played 6 Tests and scored 371 runs, including one century and three fifties.
Gill, Jaiswal and Rahul are the key batters in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar
India have the stronger batting unit going into the first Test in Galle. Shubman Gill will be the key player at the top, having scored 1,076 runs at an average of 82.77 across his last 9 matches.
KL Rahul will add experience with 896 runs at 52.71 from his last 10 matches. Yashasvi Jaiswal will also bring recent confidence after scoring 61 in the warm-up game.
Sri Lanka will have home conditions and a spin-friendly surface, but India's batting depth will give them an edge. Ravindra Jadeja will add value with both bat and ball, while Mohammed Siraj will lead the pace attack with 40 wickets from his last 10 matches. India should produce the stronger individual batting performance in this Test.
