Toss Sri Lanka chose to bat v Zimbabwe
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01:34
Herath versus the class of ’99
In their first Test since 2004, Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain Rangana Herath won his first toss and chose to bat against Zimbabwe in Harare. Sri Lanka handed debuts to 19-year-old fast bowler Lahiru Kumara and allrounder Asela Gunaratne, who had played his first international match against India in a T20 in February.
Fast bowler Carl Mumba was also given his cap, becoming Zimbabwe’s 100th Test player in their 100th Test. Zimbabwe’s players, in the recent past, have had to overcome problems with the board over non-payment of fees. However, there is a new hope after the appointment of former captain Heath Streak as coach. Zimbabwe last played a Test against New Zealand in August.
“We would have batted also,” Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer said at the toss. “It looks a good wicket, may not change much. The cracks may just widen up. Streak has been excellent, and has brought a lot of good ideas to the table.”
Sri Lanka are without a number of injured players including Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhammika Prasad. They are coming off a 3-0 whitewash against Australia at home.
Zimbabwe: 1 Tino Mawoyo, 2 Brian Chari, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Craig Ervine, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Peter Moor, 7 Malcolm Waller, 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Donald Tiripano, 10 Carl Mumba, 11 Chris Mpofu
Sri Lanka: 1 Kaushal Silva, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Kusal Perera, 5 Upul Tharanga, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Asela Gunaratne, 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Lahiru Kumara
Nikhil Kalro is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo