By: Tarish Bhatt
The Indian team won the toss and elected to bat first in the 2nd Test in Colombo. As expected, opener KL Rahul returned to the playing XI. He replaced Abhinav Mukund, who made a gritty fifty in Galle Test’s 2nd innings.
“The practice sessions have been short and sharp, and we are very well prepared going into this Test,” Virat Kohli said. “Abhinav Mukund misses out, and the rest we are playing the same team.”
“KL (Rahul) is our champion opener but Abhinav understands the dynamics of how a team works,” he added.
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Sri Lanka, meanwhile, made three changes in the squad. Dinesh Chandimal, Malinda Pushpakumara and Dhananjaya de Silva found place in the playing XI. Chandimal is leading the team in the 2nd Test.
Sri Lanka XI: Dimuth Karunaratne, Upul Tharanga, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal (c), Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Rangana Herath, Perera, Pushpakumara and Nuwan Pradeep
India XI: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha (wL), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav