What First match of the three-Test series between Sri Lanka and India When August 12-16, 2015. 10:00 IST | 04:30 GMT Where Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka

The teams

Sri Lanka The Sri Lankan team is coming off a scarring home series against Pakistan where they were outplayed in all formats by the visitors. They have had a few days to recover from that disappointment though, and focus on the three-Test series against familiar foes, India. The first Test of the series will have an added emotional factor for the hosts as it is here that they will bid good bye to one of their greatest batsmen, Kumar Sangakkara. Captain Angelo Mathews will hope that his troops rise up to the occasion and draw motivation from it rather than get bogged down by it. While Sri Lanka lost the Test series 1-2 against Pakistan, their batsmen did show ample signs of form. Dimuth Karunaratne, Mathews and keeper Kaushal Silva all scored a century each besides chipping in with fifty-plus scores. The bowlers, however, were found wanting a bit for a good part of the series, succeeding to take 20 wickets in only one Test. Against a much better batting lineup of India, they will be further tested. India A full fledged Test series with a new captain and fresh players – this is an important tour for this young Indian team in many ways. Majority of the squad members will play their first Test in Sri Lanka, including captain Virat Kohli. It will be an exciting challenge for them to acclimatise to the conditions and the pitches of the island. On the batting front, India are jolted with the injury to in-form opening batsman, Murali Vijay, who will miss the first Test. However, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul have been among runs of late and had a good outing in the practice match as well. Before departing to Sri Lanka, Kohli expressed his keenness on trying Rohit Sharma out at No. 3. Although the flamboyant Mumbai batsman didn’t spend much time in the middle in the warm-up game, expect Kohli to go ahead with the plan anyway. Kohli has also been very vocal about playing five bowlers to pick 20 wickets and he will surely go in with that combination. The question with the bowling attack is how he will utilize his rich and experienced spin trio of Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin and Amit Mishra. There are all chances that India might play all three of them with Ishant Sharma and either of Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Umesh Yadav. Key Players Sri Lanka This Test will be all about Kumar Sangakkara. He has been Sri Lanka’s most consistent batsman over the last decade and he would want to bow out of Test cricket with one final flourish. Expect him to walk in with extra intent and purpose at the Galle International Stadium, as he dons the Test whites for one final time. India This Test series is a crucial juncture in Virat Kohli’s career for many reasons. It is his first full Test series as India’s captain and we will see him execute all his aggressive ideologies and strategies for a sustained period of time. It is also an important series for him as a batsman. He has done exceptionally well against Sri Lanka in the ODIs and T20Is but this will be his first Test match against them, and that too, in their own backyard. Virat has prepared hard for this series, playing a four-day game for India A in Chennai and worked closely with Rahul Dravid on the sweep shot. Statistics Head to head

Summary of Results

Home and Away

Last 5 Tests (Most recent listed first) Sri Lanka: Lost, Won, Lost, Lost, Lost

India: Drawn, Drawn, Drawn, Lost, Lost Last meeting between both sides August 3-7, 2010 at Colombo PSS

Sri Lanka 425 & 267, India 436 & 258-5. India won by 5 wickets. Trivia The toss winning captain has opted to bat first on 28 occasions in India- Sri Lanka Tests out of 35 meetings. The last captain to insert the opposition in to bat after winning the toss was Sourav Ganguly at Kandy in August 2001. India went on win the Test by 7 wickets. India’s last 14 Tests have been all away from India (since December 2013). India have won only one, lost seven and drawn six. Harbhajan Singh needs 6 wickets to become leading wicket-taker for India in Tests in Sri Lanka. He will surpass Anil Kumble’s tally of 30 wickets. Squads Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Rangana Herath, Dimuth Karunaratne, Tharindu Kaushal, Jehan Mubarak, Dilruwan Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Kumar Sangakkara, Kaushal Silva (wk), Upul Tharanga.

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron.