COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The second Test match of a two-match bilateral cricket series between India and Sri Lanka got underway Sunday at Colombo’s iconic Sinhalese Sports Club, with Indian captain Shubman Gill winning the pre-match coin toss and choosing to send his side in to bat first.
India enters this match holding a comfortable 1-0 series advantage, having secured a solid 165-run victory over Sri Lanka in the opening fixture of the series held in Galle earlier this week. That result leaves Sri Lanka facing a must-win scenario to level the series and avoid a series defeat on home soil.
Ahead of the second Test, both teams made notable changes to their starting lineups, mixing injury adjustments with fresh selection calls. For Sri Lanka, top-order batter Pasindu Sooriyabandara retains his spot in the XI after he stepped in as a concussion substitute for injured veteran batter Dinesh Chandimal in the first Test. With Chandimal still sidelined by his injury, Sunday’s match marks Sooriyabandara’s first full appearance at the Test level. An additional change for the hosts sees experienced opener Nishan Madushka dropped from the starting lineup, with 22-year-old Kamil Mishara stepping in to make his long-awaited Test debut.
India’s squad also has a first-time Test player in its ranks: left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Saransh Jain earned his call-up to the starting XI, replacing established left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Ahead of his debut, Jain has built an impressive first-class cricket record across domestic competitions, notching more than 2,200 runs and 188 wickets in his first-class career to date.
Full starting lineups for the second Test are as follows:
Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Lahiru Udara, Kamil Mishara, Kamindu Mendis, Sonal Dinusha, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Niroshan Dickwella, Keshara Nuwantha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara
India: Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna