As a Virat Kohli led India embark for a full tour of Sri Lanka to play three Test, five one day internationals (ODI’s) and a sole Twenty20 game, we take a quick look at the previous five tours of the Men in Blue to the island nation.
1st Test, Galle. Sri Lanka won by 63 runs (SL 183 and 367; India 375 and 112)
2nd Test, Colombo. India won by 278 runs (Ind 393 and 325/8d; 306 and 134)
3rd Test, Colombo. India won by 117 runs (Ind 312 and 274; SL 201 and 268)
Virat Kohli’s first tour of Sri Lanka after being handed the captaincy got off to a perfect start in the first Test with his century in the first innings handing India a huge lead of 192 runs. Sri Lankan batsman Dinesh Chandimal turned the game on its head with an unbeaten mammoth 162 runs in the second innings setting India a tricky target of 176.
Wily spinner Rangana Herath then turned on the magic for the Lankans taking out seven Indian batsmen in the last innings en-route to a famous victory as India were bundled out for just 112 runs.
Ishant Sharma was on fire in the deciding test.
India came back roaring into the series though with centuries from Ajinkya Rahane and K.L Rahul to blow away the islanders by 278 runs in the second test at Colombo.
The deciding Test belonged to much maligned Indian pacer Ishant Sharma who was unplayable throughout ending up with a match haul of eight wickets to help India take the series courtesy a 117 runs win.
This was India’s first Test series victory in Sri Lankan soil for 23 years.
Congratulations to the Indian Cricket Team for the historic series win against Sri Lanka. We are proud of the Team's impressive performance.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 1, 2015
1st Test, Galle. Sri Lanka won by 10-wickets (SL 520/8d; Ind 276 and 338 f/o)
2nd Test, Colombo. Match drawn (SL 642/4d and 129/3d; Ind 707)
3rd Test, Colombo. India won by 5-wickets (SL 425 and 267; IND 436 and 258/5)
The series opener at Galle will be remembered for Herath’s eighth wicket partnership of 108 runs with Lasith Malinga in the first innings as the islanders put up a massive total of 520 runs.
The Mahender Singh Dhoni led Indian side would never get back into the game after spin magician Muttiah Muralitharan snapped up five wickets to restrict them to just 276 runs in the first innings to enforce the follow on.
Sachin Tendulkar’s 84 in the second innings helped India avoid an innings defeat after Malinga snared up five wickets but it was just a formality as Sri Lanka romped home with a 10 wicket victory.
The second Test played on a flat track ended up being a no result run fest for both sides with Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara scoring double tons. Riding on Virender Sehwag’s masterful 109 in the first innings, the Indians were set a stiff target of 257 runs in the final innings.
Sri Lankan seamer Suraj Randiv removed India’s top order to leave them reeling at 62 runs for the loss of 4 wickets before VVS Laxman’s unbeaten ton took Dhoni’s men to a famous five wicket victory to level the series.
Laxman played a special innings to take India home.
1st Test, Colombo. Sri Lanka won by an innings and 239 runs (SL 600/6d; Ind 223 and 138 (f/o))
2nd Test, Galle. India won by 170 runs (Ind 329 and 269; SL 292 and 136)
3rd Test, Colombo. Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets (Ind 249 and 268; SL 396 and 123/2)
1st ODI, Dambulla. Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets (India 146 in 46 overs; Sri Lanka 147/2 in 34.5 overs)
2nd ODI, Dambulla. India won by 3 wickets (Sri Lanka 142 in 38.3 overs; India 143/7 in 39.5 overs)
3rd ODI, Colombo. India won by 33 runs (India 237/9 in 50 overs; Sri Lanka 204 in 49 overs)
4th ODI, Colombo. India won by 46 runs (India 258 in 49.4 overs; Sri Lanka 212 in 46.3 overs)
5th ODI, Colombo. Sri Lanka won by 112 runs (D/L method) (Sri Lanka 227/6 in 50 overs; India 103 in 26.3 overs, target: 216)
The Test series would be remembered for India’s struggles with the newly introduced Decision Review System (DRS) and mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis’ carom ball.
An Anil Kumble led Test side was decimated by an innings and 237 runs in the first Test. After four Lankan batsmen scored centuries in the first innings, Muralitharan then tormented the Indian batsmen with a match haul of 11 wickets.
The Indians apart from Sehwag found Mendis hard to read.
The second Test was a Sehwag master class with the Delhi opener scoring a smashing double century while the rest of the batting line up struggled against Mendis. Sehwag followed it up a half century in the second innings to hand India a series levelling 170 run victory.
Mendis and Murali turned on the screws in the third test to propel Sri Lanka to a series victory.
A Dhoni led Indian ODI squad provided some consolation for the Indians with a 3-2 victory in the five match series.
1st Test, Galle. Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets (Ind 187 and 180; SL 362 and 6/0)
2nd Test, Kandy. India won by 7 wickets (SL 274 and 221; Ind 232 and 264/3)
3rd Test, Colombo. Sri Lanka won by an innings and 77 runs (Ind 234 and 299; SL 610/6d)
This was a time when not many Indian batsmen had faced up to Muralitharan. The spin legend would run through a Tendulkar-less Indian batting line up in the first Test to inflict a crushing 10 wicket loss.
A captain’s knock of an unbeaten 98 runs by Saurav Ganguly in the second Test helped India level the series at Kandy with a seven wicket victory.
Muralitharan was a revelation in the series.
Murali would prove to be a handful for the Indian batsmen again in the deciding Test at Colombo with the much acclaimed batting line up unable to deal with his sharp off-spinners. The spin master ended up with a match haul of 11 wickets including eight in the first innings alone as Sri Lanka posted a huge victory of an innings and 77 runs to clinch the three match series 2-1.
1st Test, Colombo. Match drawn (Ind 537/8d; SL 952/6d)
2nd Test, Colombo. Match drawn (SL 332 and 415/7d; Ind 375 and 281/5)
This was a period when Sachin Tendulkar was the captain of the Indian side. The two Test series ended up being an extravagant display of batting prowess by both sides played on lifeless pitches. After India scored an imposing 537 runs in their first innings of the first Test, Sri Lanka trumped their score by over 400 runs accumulating a world record 952 runs in their solitary innings in a match remembered for Sanath Jayasuriya’s 340 run marathon innings.
The second Test provided marginal relief for both sets of bowlers but still ended up as a stalemate after India finished at 281 runs for the loss of five wickets chasing 373 runs when stumps were drawn on day five. Jayasuriya was the tormentor in chief once again for the Indian bowlers scoring 199 runs in the second innings.
