Sri Lanka choose to bat first; New Zealand opt for Ajaz and Santner as key spinners

The decision has been made by Sri Lanka to bat first against New Zealand.

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first in the first Test against New Zealand in Galle.

The hosts had confirmed their playing XI in the lead-up to the game, and made two changes from the side that last played in the final Test against England, by bringing in left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya and spin-bowling allrounder Ramesh Mendis for seamers Vishwa Fernando and Milan Rathnayake.

In the batting department, Kamindu Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal were promoted up the order, to No. 5 and No. 3, respectively, while Kusal Mendis, who has the wicketkeeping gloves, will be pushed down to No. 7.

As for New Zealand, Will O'Rourke will partner captain Tim Southee as the two seam options, while Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner will the head the spin contingent, which also includes the part-time offspin of Glenn Phillips.

It's a gloomy morning in Galle, and rain is forecast for the day - and indeed, on all of the days of this Test. The pitch has fair bit of grass, something unusual for a Galle surface, which could suggest some early movement for the seamers. Dhananjaya de Silva, though, said the decision to bat first was a no-brainer, with the pitch expected to deteriorate as the game wears on.

Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kusal Mendis (wk), 8 Ramesh Mendis, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Lahiru Kumara, 11 Asitha Fernando

New Zealand: 1 Tom Latham, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Ajaz Patel, 11 Will O'Rourke