India vs Sri Lanka Highlights, 1st Test, Day 1: Pant, Vihari headline Kohli's 100th game; IND reach 357/6 at stumps

Rohit has walked in for the toss wearing the Indian blazer. What a moment for him. 35th captain for India in the traditional format!

"Pitch is a little dry. The weather is cold in the morning, goes up to 28 degrees in the afternoon. It’s a typical Indian pitch. It’s a very good thing that crowd is coming back," Rohit Sharma had said about the surface yesterday.

If Gill comes in at the No. 3 position, Shreyas could grab the No. 5 spot with Mayank opening the innings with Rohit. We are a few minutes away from the toss. Expect a rejigged eleven and crowd going berserk for Virat Kohli.

Before the Test, Dimuth Karunaratne confirmed that Sri Lanka will be without star spinners Ramesh Mendis and Maheesh Theekshana. The touring side will have seven batters with one spin and three seam options.

For Sri Lanka, the challenge will be to excel in Indian conditions after being blanked 3-0 in the T20I assignment. The visitors will play their 300th Test.

While Bumrah, the vice-captain, Shami, and Siraj look to form a lethal pace attack, the spin department will have Jadeja as an automatic pick. Also, Ashwin would most probably be the spinner if he's recovered. He had missed the limited-overs series against West Indies and Sri Lanka due to injury.

We can expect a couple of new faces in India’s batting department. Have a look at India’s predicted XI for the game:

India Predicted XI vs Sri Lanka: Vihari, Iyer and Gill compete for batting spots; Kohli set for historic 100th

It will also be the first time in years when the Indian batting line-up will be without Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. They have been dropped for the Tests and it will be interesting to see who comes into the side.

"Look, Rahane and Pujara are big shoes to fill, it will never be easy for whoever comes in, even I do not know who is going to come in for Rahane and Pujara honestly," said Rohit on the senior duo's axe.

Also, Rohit faces a happy selection headache as he starts his journey as a Test skipper. India have Mayank, Shubman and Vihari in the camp and it will be interesting to see who gets the nod in the middle order.

"Agarwal, Gill, Vihari, Iyer – all these guys are Indian cricket’s future and we need to give them a solid run to excel," said Rohit on Thursday.

The Test also marks Rohit's debut as Test captain. Since taking over the T20I captaincy after Men's T20 World Cup ended, have inflicted 3-0 series sweeps in the format against New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka. Rohit has done well in franchise cricket as well. He's all set to begin his captaincy journey in the longest format.

"It's been brilliant to watch that and it's one hell of a ride for him and will continue to be in years to come. We definitely want to make it special one for him; we all are prepared for that. Let's hope we have a good five days of cricket," said Rohit in the pre-match presser.

For Kohli's 100th Test match, 50 per cent crowd will be allowed inside the stadium, giving Mohali fans a good chance to celebrate the achievement.

Virat Kohli is on the verge of joining an elite list featuring Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma to play 100 Tests for the country.

“I honestly never thought I would play 100 Test matches. It's been a long journey. We played a lot of cricket over the course of playing these 100 Test matches. A lot of international cricket. I am just grateful that I've been able to make it to 100,” said Kohli in a video shared by the BCCI on Thursday.

Kohli made his Test debut in June 2011 against the West Indies after an impressive spell in white-ball cricket.

Cut to the present day, scored 7962 runs in 99 matches at an average of 50.39, including seven double centuries, emerging as the team's backbone in the batting unit.

Mark your calendars. A glittering international career has led to Kohli achieving a special feat today.  100 Test appearances: One more feather to his already illustrious hat.

Virat Kohli is all set to make his 100th appearance in the format while Rohit Sharma looks to start his captaincy journey on a positive note as India take on Sri Lanka in the Test series opener in Mohali. The Test against Sri Lanka also marks Kohli's first appearance in Tests since leaving the captaincy after India lost 2-1 to South Africa in January. The former skipper will look to get back among the runs on the special occasion. Also, Rohit will look to replicate his leadership success in the traditional format, having got series wins over New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka apart from five IPL titles with Mumbai Indians. Sri Lanka come into the series against India on the back of a series win against the West Indies at home in 2021.