Sangakkara wins third toss in a row

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