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against Sri Lanka Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari replaced Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in the Test set-up as Shubman Gill failed to find a place. In the bowling department, India decided to play three spinners – Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jayant Yadav as Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah will take charge as pacers.
The two neighbouring teams will lock horns against each other after a thrilling T20I series where India completely outclassed Sri Lanka in all three matches to complete the white-wash. While the Test format is altogether a different ball-game and India will look to continue their dominating run over Lanka under the new captain Rohit Sharma. It is the first captaincy assignment for Rohit as Virat Kohli relinquished the leadership earlier this year after the South Africa series. Meanwhile, Kohli will also play his 100th Test, it is Sri Lanka’s 300th of the longest format.
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Till the start of this week, the stands at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali were to be silent for the first Test between India and Sri Lanka starting from Friday. But with now 50% crowd being allowed into the stadium, the sounds of cheers and claps from the fans will be heard when Virat Kohli takes the field for his 100th Test, becoming the 12th Indian and 71st cricketer to achieve the landmark.
Friday’s Test against Sri Lanka also marks Kohali’s first appearance in Tests since leaving the captaincy after India lost 2-1 to South Africa in January. Though his returns with the bat (no century since November 2019) have invited concern and criticism in equal measure, there is no questioning that Kohli has been the backbone for India’s batting for a very long time.
Though Kohli had a low-key Test debut in June 2011 against the West Indies in the backdrop of his stunning white-ball game, his desire to succeed and strive hard for excellence in the longest format of the game has resulted in him amassing 7962 runs in 99 matches at an average of 50.39, including seven double centuries. In his landmark Test, Kohli will be entering a new phase of his career: as the senior-most batter in the side with no demands of captaincy and chance to scale much greater peaks with a renewed mindset.
Kohli’s landmark 100th Test also marks the start of Rohit Sharma’s stint as the Test captain of India. The hosts haven’t been on the losing side in home Tests since the 2-1 defeat to England in 2012 and will be hoping to extend their streak against a visiting Sri Lanka side. Apart from keeping the winning juggernaut rolling against Sri Lanka, India will have one eye on gaining some crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points, In the race to the final. India are in fifth place while Sri Lanka are the early topper of the table.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Umesh Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav , Priyank Panchal, Srikar Bharat, Saurabh Kumar
Sri Lanka Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Niroshan Dickwella (w), Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Embuldeniya, Praveen Jayawickrama, Dinesh Chandimal, Vishwa Jearn Vandersay, Dushmantha Chameera
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