Harbhajan out as India put to bowl first

Colombo:

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara won his third successive toss and elected to bat in the final cricket Test against India at the P. Sara Oval on Tuesday.

India, seeking a series-levelling win after losing the first Test in Galle, were without the injured duo of opener Gautam Gambhir and seasoned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Murali Vijay, who replaced Gambhir for the drawn second Test, retained his place in the side and leg-spinner Amit Mishra came in for Harbhajan.

Suresh Raina, who hit a century on his debut in the last match, was preferred over Yuvraj Singh for the number six spot.

Sachin Tendulkar's 169th Test made him the most-capped player in history, surpassing former Australian captain Steve Waugh's tally of 168 appearances.

Fit-again fast bowler Lasith Malinga returned for Sri Lanka along with left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara. They replaced Dilhara Fernando and Dammika Prasad, who shared the new ball in the second Test.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Venkatsai Laxman, Suresh Raina, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ishant Sharma.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Suraj Randiv, Chanaka Welegedara.

Umpires: Daryl Harper (AUS) and Simon Taufel (AUS)

TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)

Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)