GALLE: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat first Wednesday in the series-opener against Sri Lanka, the first for both teams in the World Test Championship.
New Zealand picked three spin bowlers, hoping for assistance on the Galle Stadium pitch known to offer turn.
Sri Lanka picked an extra batsman to bolster its lineup but dropped former captain Dinesh Chandimal. Akila Danajaya and left-armer Lasith Embuldeniya were named for spin bowling duties.
Niroshan Dickwella has been recalled as a wicketkeeper-batsman.
Both teams are playing for the first time with their names and numbers on their test cricket whites.
Lineups:
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Akila Dananjaya, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lahiru Kumara.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Jeet Raval, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, Will Somerville, Trent Boult.
The post New Zealand wins toss, opts to bat in 1st test vs Sri Lanka appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
Written by Nishant Pokhrel
This news first appeared on https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/new-zealand-wins-toss-opts-to-bat-in-1st-test-vs-sri-lanka/ under the title “New Zealand wins toss, opts to bat in 1st test vs Sri Lanka”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
