Dhananjaya de Silva: I think we would have bowled first as well but I’m happy batting first too. I saw some cracks and it will be difficult to bat in the fourth innings. Three seamers and one spinner.

Najmul Hossain Shanto: I like to bowl first, looks to be moisture on the surface, there will be some swing and seam movement. We have an exciting fast bower, Nahid Rana, he is playing for us in the game. This is a different format and we have to clear about our plans.

Pitch Report | Russel Arnold: The sun is finally breaking through and it feels nice out here. The last couple of days there has been overnight rain but right now, it’s bone dry conditions. There’s a nice even covering of grass, I think the ball would come nicely onto the bat. The only concern I have going further into this game is there are a lot of cracks, batting would get difficult later on. Greenness and a little bit of moisture will help the pace bowlers in the first two hours, Day 2 and Day 3 would be good for batting.

Chris Silverwood | Sri Lanka head coach: If you look at the history of the games played here, it has favoured spin but this surface is a bit green, there was rain around this morning and certainly a lot to think about before the toss. Change of format, you have to analyze a lot of things, there’s a challenge for the players how they adapt to the longer format. It’s a part and parcel of the modern way of doing it, it’s something you have to deal with. We played well against Afghanistan recently and we would be looking to carry the same form into this game and pick up vital points (WTC).

Teams:

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis(w), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Mominul Haque, Litton Das(w), Shahadat Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nahid Rana, Taijul Islam, Shoriful Islam, Khaled Ahmed

Bangladesh have won the toss and have opted to field

09:00 Local Time, 03:00 GMT, 08:30 IST: Bangladesh are fresh from an ODI series win against Sri Lanka as they step into the 2-match Test series in good spirits. The hosts have never defeated Sri Lanka in Test cricket at home. But, they are a side always on the rise and will certainly pose challenges to the tourists. The fact that Bangladesh defeated New Zealand in a Test by an appreciable margin at this very venue a few months back augurs well for them. Bangladesh will be without the services of Mushfiqur Rahim in this series owing to a fractured thumb - that’s a big blow for them as his experience is inevitable for them. The talented middle-order batter Towhid Hridoy is expected to make his debut in this game. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be without Asitha Fernando. Asitha has used the short ball ploy to great effect off late and that’s certainly a loss for them. Dhananjaya took over the captaincy from Karunaratne in the one-off Test against Afghanistan last month and led his side to a convincing victory. Their batting wears an experienced look and that might come in handy in crunch situations. Conditions in Sylhet are usually spin-friendly but going by the reports, there’s some grass on this surface. Expect a good tussle between bat and ball. Stay tuned as the toss and team lineups will be announced shortly…

Squads:

Bangladesh Squad: Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Mominul Haque, Towhid Hridoy, Litton Das(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Shoriful Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Shahadat Hossain, Shadman Islam, Musfik Hasan, Nahid Rana

Sri Lanka Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis(w), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Kamindu Mendis, Lahiru Kumara, Lahiru Udara, Chamika Gunasekara, Nishan Peiris