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India won the toss and opted to bat first against Sri Lanka in the second Test at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club on Sunday, with spin all-rounder Saransh Jain earning his debut cap for India.
Team India is 1-0 up in the series, having beaten Sri Lanka by 165 runs at Galle with standout performances from Devdutt Padikkal (167 and 44) and Manav Suthar (a ten-wicket haul). Speaking during the toss, Indian skipper Shubman Gill said that the pitch looked much harder and better as compared to Galle, and they expect the same gradual turn on the surface as it happened in Galle. He also said that spinner Kuldeep Yadav misses out due to health reasons, making way for Madhya Pradesh's veteran Saransh. "It (the pitch) looks like a much harder, much better surface compared to Galle. Galle was also a very good wicket, but I think as the game went on, it got a little bit slower and the ball started to turn. We are expecting the same, but I think for the first two or three days, I think it will be a really good wicket to bat on," he said. "[Playing XI] Kuldeep, unfortunately, had some infections, so he misses out, and Saransh makes his debut for India," added the skipper. BCCI also issued a statement that Kuldeep will miss out as he has not recovered from viral illness. "UPDATE: Mr Kuldeep Yadav has not fully recovered from his viral illness. He was unavailable for selection in the Playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka. However, he can take the field as a concussion substitute, if required." Skipper Gill rated the win at Galle "probably a nine", saying that there is always a room for improvement and there were some areas where they could have been a little better. "But, you know, this is Test cricket. It is very, very difficult to be able to have a near-perfect game because you are playing for five days, and to play that dominant and consistent cricket, especially in Test, is hard. But I think overall we had a pretty good match," he added. Sri Lankan skipper Dhananjaya de Silva also said that with some cloud cover, they can strike early and put India under pressure and said that Kamil Mishara is making his Test debut. Dinesh Chandimal is not playing due to injury sustained during the Galle Test, with his concussion substitute Pasindu Sooriyabandara in the team. "Yes, of course, as Shubman said, it (pitch) is quite harder than Galle. I thought, yeah, it is good for batting, and I do not mind the bowling because of the cloud covers; maybe we can strike early and put them under pressure. [Team changes] Yes, Kamil Mishara is debuting today, and yes, Pasindu is also playing today. [What they need to do better] Well, as I said, you know, we had to strike early when we are bowling and when batting, not losing wickets early, keep the scoreboard ticking and get runs on the board," he said. India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Saransh Jain, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Lahiru Udara, Kamil Mishara, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Sonal Dinusha, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Keshara Nuwantha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando. (ANI)
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