India captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka, at the Rangiri Dambulla International stadium, in the opening game of the IndianOil Cup tri-series tournament on Saturday.
Uttar Pradesh youngster Suresh Raina and Andhra's Venugopal Rao will make their debut for India in the One-Day Internationals.
India, without Sachin Tendulkar, who is recuperating after elbow surgery, and Sourav Ganguly, who is serving a four-match ban, further lost out on experience when VVS Laxman pulled out due to back spasms.
"Traditionally, this track has been good for teams batting first," said Dravid after the toss.
For Sri Lanka, paceman Dilhara Lokuhettige was awarded his first ODI cap after Chaminda Vaas pulled out of the game with a hamstring injury.
India opted for three pacers -- Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, while Harbhajan Singh was preferred over leg-spinner Anil Kumble.
Teams: India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Mahender Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Venugopal Rao, Mohammad Kaif, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Irfan Pathan.
Sri Lanka: Marvan Atapattu (captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumara Sangakkara, T Dilshan, Russell Arnold, Upul Chandana, Muthiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando, Fervez Mehroof, Dilhara Lokuhettige.
