{ "id": "11537", "author": "13", "cnmid": "0", "title": "Confident India face Sri Lanka in first Test ", "lang": "en", "series": "56", "cup_year": "2015", "article_type": "General", "excerpt": "", "subtype": "", "editor1": "

Galle, Aug 11<\/strong> - India will have an eye on the third spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings when they take on Sri Lanka in the first match of the three-Test series at the Galle International Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

India, who currently occupy the fifth spot, will climb to the third position if they whitewash seventh-placed Sri Lanka 3-0 and Australia defeat England in the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval cricket ground. A 2-1 victory would see the visitors gain three points.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

India will be without in-form opener Murali Vijay, who sustained a hamstring injury during the recent Zimbabwe tour.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Vijay will be replaced by Lokesh Rahul, who produced two 40-plus scores in the Indian team's tour opener in Colombo against the Sri Lankan Board President's XI. In Vijay's absence, Shikhar Dhawan and Rahul will now open for India.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Skipper Virat Kohli, who has not been among the runs lately, will be eager to regain his touch. Kohli's scores of 8 and 18 in the practice match left a lot to be desired.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

But in-form batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who scored a century in the first innings of the warm-up match is expected to boost the middle-order while the talented Rohit Sharma will also be eager to get back among the runs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

From the bowling perspective, Ishant with his five-wicket haul has shown he has a lot to offer in these pitches. Varun Aaron will look to give the experienced Ishant good support from the other end.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and the veteran Harbhajan Singh will be eying to use the pitches as much as possible to get prodigious turn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The hosts, on the other hand, will once again depend on their veteran batsman Kumar Sangakkara, who will end his illustrious career after the series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Skipper and all-rounder Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanna, Dinesh Chandimal, Upul Tharanga are a few of the other taleneted players India need to watch out for.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Lankans have included uncapped 23-year-old pacer Vishwa Fernando in their 16-member squad. Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera has also been selected, subject to a full recovery from a side strain he suffered during the series against Pakistan last month.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Teams ;<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Sri Lanka (From): Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews(c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal(w), Dhammika Prasad, T Kaushal, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Pradeep, Jehan Mubarak, Kusal Perera, Dilruwan Perera, Vishwa Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera<\/p>\r\n\r\n

India (From): Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron, Amit Mishra, Lokesh Rahul<\/p>\r\n\r\n

(IANS)<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2015\/08\/1st-test-match-india-vs-sri-lanka.jpg", "alt_img": "1st Test Match India vs Sri Lanka", "alt_title": "1st Test Match India vs Sri Lanka", "image1": "", "video": "", "seo_title": "Confident India face Sri Lanka in first Test ", "seo_desc": " India will have an eye on the third spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings when they take on Sri Lanka in the first match of the three-Test s", "seo_keywords": "India vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Preview, India vs Sri Lanka Test Series", "tag": "", "tagging": "", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "0", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": "0", "slug": "preview-1st-test-match-india-vs-sri-lanka", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": "0000-00-00", "ians_time": "00:00:00", "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "trash": "0", "view_count": "2919", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "0", "auto_link": "0", "created": "2015-08-11 12:20:00", "updated": "2015-08-11 12:20:00", "img_from": "", "img_source": "", "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "news_keywords": null, "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "1", "jio_date": "2015-08-11 12:20:00", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": "2015-08-11 12:20:00", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/preview-1st-test-match-india-vs-sri-lanka-11537" }