Pakistan field four debutants for first Test; Sri Lanka opt to bowl

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first in the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.

Under bright sunshine at the Pindi Stadium, Kusal Mendis, captaining Sri Lanka in Test cricket for the first time, said there was enough green on the pitch to indicate the quicker bowlers could exploit the first session.

"It looks like a fast-bowling wicket and the first session will be very important," he said. Sri Lanka have opted against fielding spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, going with four fast bowlers instead: Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka and Milan Rathnayaka. Sonal Dinusha, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis will be their only spin options.

Babar Azam, Pakistan's captain, accepted the first morning would be tough.

Pakistan fielded a new-look side for the second Test in a row, with four debutants for the Test. Batters Tayyab Arif and Mohammad Taha made their debuts, as did spin-bowling allrounder Arafat Minhas and quick bowler Saqib Khan.

Pakistan remain rooted to the bottom of the table in the current WTC standings, while Sri Lanka are placed seventh.

Pakistan:1 Azan Awais, 2 Tayyab Arif, 3 Mohammad Taha, 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Salman Agha, 7 Ghazi Ghori (wk), 8 Arafat Minhas, 9 Razaullah, 10 Mohammad Abbas, 11 Saqib Khan

Sri Lanka: 1 Kusal Mendis (capt), 2 Lahiru Udara (wk), 3 Passindu Sooriyabandara, 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Sonal Dinusha, 8 Milan Rathnayaka, 9 Lahiru Kumara, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Dilshan Madushanka