Zimbabwe bowl first in ODI series opener; SL recall Samarawickrama

Zimbabwe's stand-in captain Sean Williams won the toss and chose to bowl in the first of two ODIs against Sri Lanka, in Harare. Zimbabwe were without Craig Ervine, their regular ODI captain, who was ruled out on the morning of the series with a calf injury.

On a track on which the seamers were expected to extract some assistance, particularly in the morning - this match started at 9:30am local time - Zimbabwe fielded three frontline seamers - Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, and Trevor Gwandu.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, recalled Sadeera Samarawickrama, who is playing his first international in 2025. They also have three frontline fast bowlers in the XI - Dushmantha Chameera, Asitha Fernando, and left-armer Dilshan Madushanka.

The game is also Brendan Taylor's first ODI since his ban ended. Earlier this month, he made his return to international cricket by playing in the second Test against New Zealand.

Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Nishan Madushka, 3 Kusal Mendis , 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Janith Liyanage, 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Dushmantha Chameera, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Dilshan Madushanka.

Zimbabwe: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Ben Curran, 3 Brendan Taylor, 4 Sean Williams (capt.), 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Wessly Madhevere, 7 Tony Munyonga, 8 Brad Evans, 9 Richard Ngarava, 10 Blessing Muzarabani, 11 Trevor Gwandu.