IND vs SL 1st Test Preview: Kohli's 100th Test offers crucial WTC points

Kohli, who made his Test debut in 2011 against West Indies will be playing his 100th Test against Sri Lanka, a team against whom he has cherished playing, be it in the longest format or the shortest.

The India cricket team will be playing its first Test under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma and the occasion could get no better as it also marks the 100th Test for India stalwart Virat Kohli. 

Sri Lanka, who are joint first in the current World Test Championship table courtesy of their two victories against West Indies in two matches, will be buoyed to get that winning run going but will be fully aware of the consequences of facing India at home.

India on the other hand would be looking to move in the WTC Points Table 2021-23, where they are currently placed at number five with four wins, three losses and two draws. 

Kohli, who made his Test debut in 2011 against West Indies will be playing his 100th Test against Sri Lanka, a team against whom he has cherished playing be it in the longest or the shortest format. 

Virat Kohli vs Sri Lanka 

Format	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	Highest Score
Tests	09	15	1004	77.23	243
ODIs	47	46	2220	60.00	139
T20Is	07	06	339	84.75	82

India batting in the Rahane-Pujara less Era

It will be after a very long time that the Indian batting would be without the services of its two stalwart batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, both of whom were shown the door after a below-par showing in South Africa where India lost the series 1-2 even after winning the first game. 

In their place, Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer have been drafted and most probably, Hanuma would now have to prove his mettle at number three while Iyer will take the number five position vacated by Rahane. 

Sri Lanka’s Main Strength 

Sri Lanka will finally have some experience to bank on in terms of batting as veterans Angelo Mathews,  Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne return to the fold. Their experience of playing spin will be very handy against the Indian duo Ravi Chandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. 

Along with them, talented Dhananjaya de Silva will most probably return to the Playing 11 as well as he could bowl handy off-spin and partners the deadly spin duo of left-arm spinners Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama. 

India vs Sri Lanka Mohali Pitch Report

The pitch at IS Bindra Stadium of the Punjab Cricket Association in Mohali has always been helpful to the pace bowlers, offering a decent amount of pace and bounce on the first three days. 

Because of the pace, bounce and carry it offers, the batters are also able to play on the rise shots and are able to play through the line as well, trusting the bounce of the wicket. In the 1st India vs Sri Lanka Test, the pitch is likely to remain the same. 

Ind vs Sl Chandigarh Weather Update and Toss 

The Weather of Mohali for the five days of the Test is conducive for playing cricket. However on the first day i.e. Friday, March 04th, there are 1% chances of rain and there will be 54% cloud cover. On Sunday, March 06th, which would be the third day of the Test, once again there are 1% chances of rain with up t0 96% cloud cover and also chances of thunderstorms later in the day. 

In such weather conditions, the captain winning the toss would be inclined to field first also given the fact that the wicket would get better with the passing time as the sunshine will be 100% after the first three days.  

India vs Sri Lanka Head to Head in Tests

Total Tests Played	44
India Won	20
Sri Lanka Won	07
Draw	17

India Predicted Playing 11

Rohit Sharma(c), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj,

Sri Lanka Predicted Playing 11

Dimuth Karunaratne(c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Dushmantha Chameera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Embuldeniya, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lahiru Kumara

India Test Squad vs Sri Lanka: 

Rohit Sharma(c), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Umesh Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Priyank Panchal, Srikar Bharat, Saurabh Kumar

Sri Lanka Test Squad vs India: 

Dimuth Karunaratne(c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Embuldeniya, Praveen Jayawickrama, Dinesh Chandimal, Vishwa Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Dushmantha Chameera