SL to bat first

26 Mar 2012 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test against England at the Galle International Stadium.

The tourists awarded a Test cap to all-rounder Samit Patel, who will bat in the middle-order and bowl left-arm spin, the third slow bowler in the ranks after Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar.

Patel was preferred over Ravi Bopara, who could have played only as a specialist batsman after a side strain ruled him out of bowling in the series.

Sri Lanka left out Chamara Silva, who hit 163 against the tourists in a practice match last week, to play young batsman Dinesh Chandimal.

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Monty Panesar, Graeme Swann. 12th man: Ravi Bopara.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera, Dinesh Chandimal, Prasanna Jayawardene, Suranga Lakmal, Chanaka Welegedara, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath. 12th man: Tharanga Paranavitana. (AFP)

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SL to bat first

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