PROVIDENCE (Guyana), March 22: Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first in the first Test against West Indies in here on Saturday.

Sri Lanka opted to play two spinners with left-arm Rangana Herath partnering Muttiah Muralitharan.

Middle order batsman Thilan Samaraweera returned to the team in place of the out-of-form Chamara Silva.

West Indies gave a Test debut to left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn. Ramnaresh Sarwan, returning to the team after a long injury absence, was named vice-captain, a WICB media release announced on Friday.

Teams:

West Indies: Chris Gayle (captain), Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ryan Hinds, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Sulieman Benn, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Michael Vandort, Malinda Warnapura, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Prasanna Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Rangana Herath, Chaminda Vaas, Thilan Thushara.—Reuters