New Zealand opt to bat in first Sri Lanka Test

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat in the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday.

The Kiwis return to cricket action in the World Test Championship after their heartbreaking World Cup defeat to England last month.

Rain in the island nation hasn't helped New Zealand in their preparation ahead of the two-match series but Williamson expects his players to rely on their past experience.

"Rain most days, so hasn't been a huge amount of cricket and preparation. It's important guys pull in their past experiences and just look forward to the challenge ahead," Williamson said at the toss "Pulling out the Test blueprints that are important to our game, despite not getting the build-up to the cricket that we would have liked before hand. It's important we make the adjustments quickly."