Bangladesh Win Toss, Aim to Maximize Batting Conditions
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first in Galle against Sri Lanka, as the opening Test of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle begins. The pitch appeared to favor batting early on, and Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto expressed his intent to take full advantage of those conditions.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒐.
However, they will be missing Mehidy Hasan Miraz, their top run-scorer in the last WTC cycle, who is out due to fever.
Sri Lanka Hand Two Debuts in Angelo Mathews’ Farewell Test
Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva admitted he would have chosen to bat first as well. He also took a moment to honor the legendary Angelo Mathews, who is playing his final Test match.
“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 – 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒐 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒘𝒔,” 𝒅𝒆 𝑺𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Sri Lanka have included two debutants in their lineup – top-order batter Lahiru Udara and ambidextrous spinner Tharindu Rathnayake. Both teams have opted for a balance of two seamers and two spinners.
Rain Threat Looms Over Galle Test
Weather might pose a challenge throughout the match. There was rain the night before, and even though the Test began on time, interruptions are expected across the day and possibly during the entire Test.
Playing XIs
Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Kusal Mendis (wk), Milan Rathnayake, Tharindu Rathnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando
Bangladesh XI: Shadman Islam, Anamul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wk), Jaker Ali, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud.
Also Read: Texas Super Kings Dominate Los Angeles Knight Riders for Second Straight Win in MLC 2025