Toss Sri Lanka chose to field vs Afghanistan

Sri Lanka have made the unusual decision to bowl first in a home Test, with the surface at the SSC bearing a green tinge. Often Test-match pitches at this venue are dry, and spin-friendly.

Sri Lanka have also picked a pace-heavy attack, handing a debut to fast bowler Chamika Gunasekara, who had impressed in the first two rounds of the ongoing National Super League four-day competition. The other quicks are Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando. This means spin-bowling allrounder Ramesh Mendis has been left out of the XI.

Afghanistan, playing their eighth Test, have as many as four debutants. Seamers Mohammad Saleem and 18-year-old Naveed Zadran are playing their first Test, alongside spin-bowling allrounder Zia-ur-Rehman.

Noor Ali Zadran – an experienced limited overs opener – is also playing his first Test, having displaced Abdul Malik from that position. Because of the debutants in their attack, there is no room for the more experienced left-arm spinner Zahir Khan, or for seamer Yamin Ahmadzai.

This is the only Test between these teams.

Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Nishan Madushka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), 8 Prabath Jayasuriya, 9 Asitha Fernando, 10 Vishwa Fernando, 11 Chamika Gunasekara

Afghanistan: 1 Ibrahim Zadran, 2 Noor Ali Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Nasir Jamal, 6 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 7 Zia-ur-Rehman, 8 Qais Ahmad, 9 Nijat Masood, 10 Naveed Zadran, 11 Mohammad Saleem