Shake Sri Lanka chose to bat vs New Zealand
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka won the toss and elected to bat in the first ODI against New Zealand, in Dambulla, saying he expected the surface to get worse as the match progressed. New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said he did not mind bowling first as there was a chance it would rain and the outfield would be wet later, which could prevent the bowlers from operating at night.
New Zealand have three debutants in their eleven. Opening batsman Tim Robinson and wicketkeeper-batsman Mitchell Hay get their ODI caps, having played against T20Is over the weekend. For Nathan Smith, the 26-year-old bowling all-rounder, it is his first international match in any format.
Adam Milne, who replaced the injured Lockie Ferguson in the squad after arriving in the country on Tuesday night, was not available for selection. Jacob Duffy will be the other frontline seamer, with Ish Sodhi, Santner, Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips providing the spin options on a track that is expected to change.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have brought back left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka. They have also been hit by injury, with Wanindu Hasaranga ruled out. Jeffrey Vandersay replaced him in the XI. There are plenty of bowling options in the top seven, with Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis and Janith Liyanage all capable of bowling a few overs.
Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka (captain), 6 Kamindu Mendis, 7 Janith Liyanage, 8 Maheesh Theekshana, 9 Jeffrey Vandersay, 10 Dilshan Madushanka, 11 Asitha Fernando
New Zealand: 1 Tim Robinson, 2 Will Young, 3 Henry Nicholls, 4 Mark Chapman, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Mitchell Hay (week), 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner (captain), 9 Nathan Smith, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Jacob Duffy
