Sri Lanka win toss and field first in Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field in the first Test against Pakistan at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday. It is the first of a two-match ICC World Test Championship series.
- Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field in Rawalpindi on Monday.
- The match opens a two-Test ICC World Test Championship series.
- Pakistan's 16-member squad has eight uncapped players.
- Kusal Mendis begins his tenure as Sri Lanka's Test captain.
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first against Pakistan in the opening Test of a two-match series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday. The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship.
Pakistan, led by Babar Azam, are looking to win the series after their white-ball sides did well on this tour. Pakistan won the three-match T20I series 2-1 and also won the ODI tri-nation series. Sri Lanka's all-format tour began on 9 October.
Pakistan's 16-member Test squad includes eight uncapped players: Ali Shabbir, Saqib Khan, Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Tayyab Arif, Mohammad Taha, Saad Baig and Sameer Minhas. Daily Pakistan Urdu reported that four players are making their Test debuts in this match.
Babar Azam is on the verge of completing 5,000 Test runs. Azan Awais is set to play his first home Test after seven outings in the format, and Aamir Jamal has received a call-up. Mohammad Abbas will lead the pace attack. Muhammad Ghazi Ghori and Razaullah made their Test debuts in Pakistan's most recent red-ball match.
Kusal Mendis begins his tenure as Sri Lanka's Test captain in Rawalpindi. He has previously led Sri Lanka in six T20Is and 27 ODIs. He said the squad includes four fast bowlers, as quoted by Daily Pakistan Urdu.
Babar Azam said, according to the same report, that Pakistan would try to play to their strengths in the first session and that the team also has experienced players. In translation, he said: "We will try to play to our strength in the first session, and there are experienced players in the team too."
Both teams have had only one full-fledged training session each. Sri Lanka won the three-day practice match against PCB Patron's XI by 142 runs, and nine members of Pakistan's squad played for the Patron's XI side.
In Tests between the two sides, Pakistan have won 23 of 59, Sri Lanka 17, and 19 were drawn. Pakistan have won 10 bilateral series since 1982 and Sri Lanka six, the last in 2017. Pakistan won the last series 2-0 in July 2023.
Background
khabr.pk reported on 7 November that the Pakistan Cricket Board added four players to the Test squad for this series. On 2 November, khabr.pk reported that Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by three wickets in the tri-nation ODI final. On 5 November it reported that the PCB had decided to prepare fast pitches for the series.
Why it matters
The series is Pakistan's home Test engagement against Sri Lanka and is closely followed by cricket fans in the country. Several newcomers are in the squad, so supporters will see a number of players making early appearances in the format. The matches also count towards the ICC World Test Championship.
