Sri Lanka Captain Dhananjaya de Silva (left) and New Zealand Skipper Tim Southee

By M. Shamil Amit

The first Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at the Galle International Stadium will be played across six days, with a rest day in between. 
The match will start today and there will be a rest day on Saturday. Rest days in Test matches are rare these days but the decision to keep a rest day during this Test was taken due to the Presidential Election.
The two teams met each other in a Test series last year (2023) with New Zealand winning the series 2-0. But the Kiwis are touring Sri Lanka after a lapse of five years with the last being in 2019 where the teams shared the series one each.
New Zealand have lost all four matches that they have played at the Galle Stadium, and this will be an opportunity for them to achieve their first win from the two Test matches.
With spin going to be the forte the two teams possess two players from whom they will bank on and both are left-arm spinners in Prabath Jayasuriya for Sri Lanka and Rachin Ravindra in the New Zealand camp.
Jayasuriya has had a successful stint in this ground as from the eight home Test matches that he has played six have been at Galle where he has captured over 50 wickets and for Ravindra the venue is going to be significant as he has not been tried in the Asian region.
With rain expected during the five days of proceedings, winning the toss will be crucial.  The series is part of the 2023-2025 World Test Championship.
The teams
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Dhananjaya de Silva (Captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando. 
New Zealand Squad: Tim Southee (Captain), Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Kane Williamson and Will Young.