Sri Lanka’s opening Test against New Zealand at Galle next month will be a six-day affair with the provision of a rest day owing to the presidential election in the island nation. The Test, scheduled to commence on September 18, will have a rest day on September 21, “owing to the Presidential Election of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka”, said an ICC release on Friday. It will be the first time in more than two decades that Sri Lanka have been scheduled to host a Test across six days, with their match against Zimbabwe in Colombo in 2001 also including a rest day due to Poya Day (full moon), said the ICC.

The two-match series is part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship cycle with the second Test scheduled at the same venue from September 26-30.

Rest days were a common feature in Test cricket in the last century, with several matches in the cricketing world being played across six days with Sunday usually being an off day.

More recently, Bangladesh played a Test-series opener against Sri Lanka in December 2008, which was a six-day affair because of a parliamentary election.

New Zealand and Sri Lanka are currently placed third and fourth respectively in the World Test Championship standings.

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