Pakistan have been on a roll since their 2-2 series draw in England in August, which briefly lifted them to number one position in world cricket`s Test rankings for the first time.

Arch-rivals India relegated Pakistan to number two with recent victory over New Zealand but Misbah-ul-Haq`s men have a prime opportunity to close the gap in the three-match series against the West Indies and are strong favourites.

Pakistan captain Misbah said he was relishing the prospect of a day-night Test, where play will be from 3:30 pm to 10:30 pm (1130 GMT to 1830 GMT) with two breaks of 30 minutes, in what is nominally a “home” series for Pakistan.

“It`s exciting because I think the future belongs to day-night Tests,” said Misbah, whose team will be missing senior batsman Younis Khan, recovering from dengue fever.

Pakistan have included in-form batsman Babar Azam, 21, for his first Test after he racked up 360 runs during the one-day series against the West Indies.

But misfiring openers Mohammad Hafeez and Shan Masood have been axed from the squad which levelled the four-match Test series against England.

The West Indies, routed by Pakistan 3-0 in both Twenty20 and one-day series preceding the Tests, come in as clear underdogs.

Coach Phil Simmons, who guided them to the World Twenty20 title in April this year, was sacked prior to this tour after the team lost 2-0 to India in a four-match series in August.

But captain Jason Holder said the West Indies — down in eighth in the Test rankings — are ready to bounce back.

“We have some new faces in Tests so we will do our best,” said Holder.

Experts, however, see Pakistan`s spin duo of Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar proving too much for the spin-wary West Indian batsmen, especially in the unfamiliar day-night format with the pink ball and under lights. Australia staged the inaugural day-night Test against New Zealand in Adelaide last November — the first in Test cricket`s 140-year history.

The innovation has been brought in to address the dwindling crowds in Test cricket — floodlit matches encourage those at work during the day to attend — and has met with initial success.

The Adelaide Test attracted 123,000 spectators and an average television audience of two million.

But players from both sides complained about the pink ball’s movement and durability, as well as the difficulty batsmen faced seeing it under lights.

Pakistan have accumulated more experience than the West Indies under lights, adopting the coloured ball concept six years ago for the final of their domestic premier first-class tournament.

Pakistan have more than one reason to do well in Dubai — as well as grabbing a slice of Test history the match is their 400th Test since playing their first in India in 1952.

A win will not only cap a historic occasion but will also give Pakistan momentum for their pink-ball Tests in Australia in December.

The remaining two Tests against the West Indies will be in Abu Dhabi (October 21-25) and Sharjah (October 30-November 3).

Teams (from): Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan

West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels, Jomel Warrican

Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG) and Paul Reiffel (AUS) TV umpire: Ian Gould (ENG), Match referee: Jeff Corwe (NZL).

The hosts lead the series 1-0 following their emphatic innings victory in Galle and also look set to win the Sobers-Tissera Trophy which is on offer for the first time.

The national selectors have decided to include another promising youngster Kusal Mendis while replacing the out of form Lahiru Thirimanne who has struggled for runs during the recent past.

Rangana Herath will the vice-captain for the match.

The former Sri Lanka U19 World Cup captain has really forced himself into recognition following a series of good scores for the Sri Lanka A team and for the Development Squad during a recent series in India.

In addition controversial spinner Tharindu Kaushal has been left out and his place will be taken by all-rounder Dilruwan Perera who will be making a comeback having played his previous Test match against Pakistan in June this year.

Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews welcomed the inclusion of new cap Kusal Mendis but also emphasised that the left out players could always make a comeback in the future.

“We know every player goes through a rough patch in their career and I hope the players left out will soon bounce back. But at the moment we don’t have any choices so we got to make that call” said Mathews.

“Kusal Mendis has earned his place in the side and hope that he will grab that opportunity and cement his place in the side. We are not going to put a lot of pressure on him and we can’t expect wonders from him. There will be nervous times for him but we will be there to help him out. As the team captain I will back him all the way. He has the talent and I hope that he will come out good” added the Sri Lanka captain.

Mathews also expected the West Indies to bounce back after their setback in Galle and said that the team will need to play positively if they are to complete a 2-0 whitewash.

“There is a little bit of bounce than it was in Galle. But it looks really dry so the spinners will come into play. Regardless of the wicket we will have to play some good cricket. We got to pick a team which could win the game and I am pretty sure if we could play to our potential we can win the game” added Mathews.

Despite their success in the opening Test, Mathews believed that there is still plenty of room for improvement as the team look to make an impact at a venue which has produced a result in the last ten games.

“As a team we are looking at an improvement in all departments. We can still fine tune in batting, bowling and fielding and we always try to keep on improving and to be as clinical as possible.”

Meanwhile the West Indies are likely to make at least one change to their side with Rajendra Chandrika set to replace opening batsman Shai Hope in the line-up.

Even then, they still face a daunting task to regroup and to bounce back with their bowling area as the main concern having conceded nearly 500 runs to their opponents in the first Test.

No doubt the Caribbean islanders will be inspired with the legendary all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers been present at the venue as a chief guest.

The teams:

Sri Lanka (from): Angelo Mathews (captain), Rangana Herath (vice-captain), Kaushal Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Kusal Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera.

West Indies (from): Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice-captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Rajendra Chandrika, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Jomel Warrican.

Free entry for schoolboys

School cricketers and schoolboys will have free entrance to witness the second Test match between Sri Lanka and the West Indies for the Sobers-Tissera Trophy, which begins at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo today.

Legendary cricketer Sir Garfield Sobers and former national captain Michael Tissera will be the chief guest at this match.

School cricketers and schoolboys are requested to come in with their respective school uniform to receive free entry to the venue.

Sri Lanka are rebuilding following the retirement of their batting greats, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara, within the space of a year.

The West Indies, already hit by the reluctance of senior pros like Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo to play Test cricket, faced further turmoil when coach Phil Simmons was stood down for the tour for speaking out against his board’s selection policies.

Former fast bowler and selector Eldine Baptiste, who will serve as interim coach for the tour, will try to ease newly-appointed Test captain Jason Holder into the role.

Holder, a 23-year-old all-rounder who has played just eight Tests, was a surprise choice to replace the seasoned Denesh Ramdin as captain.

“We have a very young team and a young captain,” Baptiste said. “My job is to keep the team focused for the Test matches.”

The West Indies are searching for their maiden Test win on Sri Lankan soil, where they have played nine matches since 1993 — losing five and drawing the other four.

Both teams will look to bounce back after a lacklustre year.

The West Indians lost to South Africa and Australia, while the home series against England was drawn 1-1.

Angelo Mathews’ Sri Lanka crashed to a 2-0 series defeat in New Zealand and lost home series to Pakistan and India by identical 2-1 margins.

Like their rivals, Sri Lanka too have an interim coach in Jerome Jayaratne, who was given charge of the team after Marvan Atapattu resigned in the wake of the defeat against India.

Jayaratne, who did not play international cricket but made his mark as head of the Sri Lankan board’s coaching department, has already described Mathews’ boys as the “worst fielding side in Asia”.

He refused to take victory for granted against the young touring side.

“I would like to believe that we have a better chance of getting back to winning ways, but I definitely won’t underestimate them,” he said.

Only two players from either side have played more than 50 Tests — Mathews and Rangana Herath for Sri Lanka and batsman Marlon Samuels and Ramdin for the West Indies.

Herath, the 37-year-old left-arm spinner, could prove to be the difference when the first Test starts at the picturesque Galle International Stadium, a venue that traditionally favours spin.

Herath took seven for 48 against India in August, helping Sri Lanka bounce back to win that Test by 63 runs.

In June Pakistani spin twins Yasir Shar and Zulfiqar Babar combined to grab 13 wickets between them as Sri Lanka suffered a 10-wicket defeat at the same venue.

In the absence of star spinner Sunil Narine, who was not picked for the Tests, the West Indies will rely on leg-break bowler Devendra Bishoo, who has claimed 50 wickets in 13 Tests so far.

Sri Lanka’s batting in the absence of Jayawardene and Sangakkara will revolve around skipper Mathews, who hit three centuries in the home Tests against Pakistan and India.

Sri Lanka (from) – Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirmanne, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Rangana Herath, Dhammika Prasad, Kusal Perera, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep, Tharindu Kaushal, Suranga Lakmal, Dilruwan Perera, Milinda Siriwardena, Kusal Mendis.

West Indies (from) – Jason Holder (capt), Kraig Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Rajendra Chandrika, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Jomel Warric