All eyes will be on Virat Kohli as India take on Sri Lanka in the first Test at Mohali's Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, starting Friday (February 4). The first IND vs SL Test will be telecast live on Star Sports Network, and fans can also stream the match online on Disney+ Hostar. (More Cricket News)
It's the beginning of Rohit Sharma's Test reign, but at least for the first few days and probably the entirety of the match, his predecessor will hog all the limelight. After relinquishing Test captaincy in controversial circumstances, Kohli is owning the stage for purely cricketing reasons. And the 33-year-old will be keen to dominate the rivals, as he has done countless times in the past, with his performance. The stage is well and truly set for Kohli's 100th Test match.
For India, a good start will help set the tone for the remainder of the series. The second match, a day-nighter in Bengaluru, starts March 12. With history stacked against their opponents, Rohit Sharma & Co will start favorites against Sri Lanka. The visitors are in fact yet to win a Test series in India.
But the visitors are a motivated lot and will look to produce a concerted effort. India lost their last Test series against South Africa away and now, they are in the midst of rebuilding, so to say, with two of their most senior batters -- Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane getting the boot from the selectors. Also, Sri Lanka, despite their contrasting fortunes in the shorter formats of the game, are unbeaten in the last six Test outings.
The series is part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2021-23. Sri Lanka, by virtue of two wins in the cycle, lead the WTC points table. India, the finalists in the inaugural edition, are fifth with four wins, three defeats, two draws and one no result.
India vs Sri Lanka match and telecast details
Match: 1st Test match of Sri Lanka's tour of India, 2022
Days: From March 4 to March 8, 2022
Time: Daily start time 9:30 AM IST
Venue: Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali
TV Channels: Star Sports 1/HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi/HD, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar
India vs Sri Lanka head-to-head
This will the 45th meeting in Test cricket between India and Sri Lanka. India lead Sri Lanka 20-7 in the head-to-head record, with 17 matches ending in draws.
India are undefeated at home against Sri Lanka, winning 11 in 20 matches. The last time India lost a Test match against Sri Lanka was in 2015 in Galle. Since that 63-run defeat, India have won six and drawn two. In the last meeting, India and Sri Lanka played out a draw at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi (December 2017).
Overall, India have a win-loss record of 166-173 in 560 Test matches. There was one tied match. At home, India have won 110 of their 278 matches played so far, and are unbeaten in the last five matches.
The Mohali Test will be Sri Lanka's 300th match in the longest format of the game. They have a win-loss record of 95-113. They are on a three-match winning run, and are undefeated in the last six matches.
This is the 17th Test series between India and Sri Lanka. India lead Sri Lanka 9-3 in series head-to-head record. India are unbeaten in the last five series, winning four of those. At home, India have won six of eight Test series against Sri Lanka. Two have ended in draws.
Overall, India have played 169 Test series, with a win-loss record of 71-66. Sri Lanka have won 45 and lost 55 of their 126 Test series so far.
Likely XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Embuldeniya, Praveen Jayawickrama.
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, 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: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Embuldeniya, Praveen Jayawickrama, Dinesh Chandimal, Vishwa Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Dushmantha Chameera.
