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The Indian cricket team celebrated India's 80th Independence Day in Galle ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka, with Indian captain Shubman Gill and
coach Gautam Gambhir hoisting the flag. It's a double special occasion for the Indian team as the day also marks the 600th Test for India, having played the first Test in 1932. In these years, India became one of the top teams in the world. They're the fourth-best team in terms of most wins in the format, with 186 wins, behind Australia, England and West Indies, who have won 426, 405 and 187 wins respectively.
Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill doing flag hoisting in Galle. pic.twitter.com/cCkWiv4DCy
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 15, 2026
Meanwhile, the Test series against Sri Lanka is of utmost importance. India's performance in the format hasn't been great in recent times, and the team now face a must-win situation in Sri Lanka to keep the World Test Championship (WTC) hopes alive. Gill has already confirmed that the team has set its sights on the WTC and would leave no stone unturned to make the final.
"I am comfortable in my role as captain now. Our goal is to stay in contention for a berth in the World Test Championship final. We need to win six or seven Tests for that. So we want to make a beginning here," Gill said on the eve of the first Test.
India Opt To Bat
India won the toss and opted to bat first in the series opener. Sarfaraz Khan, who was added to the squad as a replacement for Sai Sudharsan, failed to make the XI as India opted for Devdutt Padikkal. India also played Prasidh Krishna ahead of Auqib Nabi, who replaced Jasprit Bumrah in the squad. Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar were the three spinners in the playing XI.India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
