Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and chose to bat in the first Test in Galle on Tuesday, the final outing for Sri Lanka stalwart Angelo Mathews.
Mathews, who made his debut in 2009 on the famous pitch perched beneath the fortress in Galle in 2009, is retiring after 118 Tests.
Sri Lanka Cricket made a presentation to Mathews before the start.
“I am extremely proud to have a wonderful journey, thankful for whoever was part of it,” said Mathews, who was joined by his family on the ground for the ceremony.
“Feeling quite special. Realising that I have played over 100 Tests. Playing for the country was my dream, it has come true.”
Sri Lanka handed debut Test caps to top-order batsman Lahiru Udara and ambidextrous bowler Tharindu Ratnayake
Udara has been a prolific run scorer in domestic cricket while Ratnayake can bowl both right- and left-arm orthodox spin.
Bangladesh suffered a blow ahead of the game when all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz was ruled out with fever.
He was outstanding in Bangladesh’s innings win over Zimbabwe in their last Test, taking five wickets and scoring a hundred.
The match is the first in the new two-year World Test Championship cycle.
The second Test begins in Colombo on 25 June.
Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Shadman Islam, Anamul Haque, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Jaker Ali, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Kusal Mendis, Milan Rathnayake, Tharindu Ratnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando
Umpires: Alex Wharf (ENG), Rod Tucker (AUS)
TV umpire: Allahuddien Paleker (RSA)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)