In an attempt to hit back and level the series, Virat Kohli rang in three changes to his side after winning the toss and opting to bat first at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. Opener
Murali Vijay, declared unfit for the first Test at Galle, comes in as a replacement for the injured Shikhar Dhawan, who surfaced a hairline fracture in one of his finger.
Other changes include the addition of allrounder
Stuart Binny and Varun Aaron ahead of Harbhajan Singh and Varun Aaron.
Harbhajan was lacklustre in the first Test in Galle, where he picked up just one wicket for 90 runs in combined innings. Aaron too wasn't the most economical having conceded runs at over four an over and ending with two wickets. Those expecting Cheteshwar Pujara to play here in Colombo have been left disappointed as the team management continues to stick to Rohit Sharma despite his torrid run in Tests.
Pour in your wishes for Kumar Sangakkara In what will be
Kumar Sangakkara's final international appearance, Angelo Mathews said he would have rather wanted to bowl first since the ball will swing and seam in the first couple of sessions. Other than one forced change - Dushmantha Chameera comes in for Nuwan Pradeep who is out injured - Sri Lanka have stuck to the side that played in Galle.
Mathews: I would have actually bowled first. If at all there is anything in it for the bowlers, it will be in the first two sessions. It does swing and seam in the first session here. One forced change, Nuwan Pradeep is injured and Chameera is in. It will be an emotional Test, hopefully we'll win the Test match and give him (Sangakkara) a grand farewell.
Kohli: We will bat first, looks like a pretty good surface. Whatever grass we saw two days back has disappeared. We lost two sessions in the game and lost the Test match in Galle. We need to learn from our mistakes, but we were positive for 80% of the game. Dhawan misses out, Vijay comes back, Binny and Umesh are in.
Teams:Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews(c), Dinesh Chandimal(w), Jehan Mubarak, Dhammika Prasad, Rangana Herath, T Kaushal, Dushmantha Chameera
India (Playing XI): Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Stuart Binny, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma,
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