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)