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The Sri Lankans have played 17 Tests in India in 35 years, but failed to win a single one.
Sri Lanka will aim to create history by winning their first Test and series in India when the islanders take on the hosts in a three match series starting in Kolkata on Thursday.
Dinesh Chandimal's side have their task cut against Team India who have won their last eight Test series, including a 3-0 whitewash in Sri Lanka in July-August this year.
The Sri Lankans have played 17 Tests in India in 35 years, but failed to win a single one, while losing 10 and seven ended in draws.
India and Sri Lanka have played each other in 16 series, with the former winning on eight occasions. Sri Lanka have three series wins.
When it comes to team totals, there is no beating the mammoth 952/6 which Sri Lanka amassed in Colombo in 1997, courtesy Sanath Jayasuriya's triple hundred and Roshan Mahanama's double century. The duo put on 576 runs for the second wicket, but the game ended in a dull draw.
For India, their best is 726/9 declared in 2009-2010 made memorable by Virender Sehwag's blazing 293 from 254 balls at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai.
Among the batsmen, Jayasuriya holds the record for the highest score for his 340 in Colombo and the most runs in a series with a tally of 521.
Sehwag's 491 is the best by an Indian batsman against the Lankans.
In the bowling department, spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan leads the wicket-taking charts with 105 wickets from 22 Tests. Anil Kumble is India's top wicket-taker with 74 wickets from 18 games.
Rajneesh Gupta presents a complete view of the Tests between the two teams:
India-Sri Lanka Test series:
| Season | Host | Captains | Tests | India | Sri Lanka | Drawn | Won | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | Sri Lanka | ||||||||
| 1982-1983 | India | Sunil Gavaskar | Bandula Warnapura | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Drawn | |
| 1985 | Sri Lanka | Kapil Dev | Duleep Mendis | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Sri Lanka | |
| 1986-1987 | India | Kapil Dev | Duleep Mendis | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | India | |
| 1990-1991 | India | Mohammed Azharuddin | Arjuna Ranatunga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | India | |
| 1993 | Sri Lanka | Mohammed Azharuddin | Arjun Ranatunga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | India | |
| 1993-1994 | India | Mohammed Azharuddin | Arjuna Ranatunga | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | India | |
| 1997 | Sri Lanka | Sachin Tendulkar | Arjuna Ranatunga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Drawn | |
| 1997-1998 | India | Sachin Tendulkar | Arjuna Ranatunga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Drawn | |
| 1998-1999+ | Sri Lanka | Mohammed Azharuddin | Arjuna Ranatunga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Drawn | |
| 2001 | Sri Lanka | Sourav Ganguly | Sanath Jayasuriya | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Sri Lanka | |
| 2005-2006~ | India | Rahul Dravid | Marvan Atapattu | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | India | |
| 2008 | Sri Lanka | Anil Kumble | Mahela Jayawardene | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Sri Lanka | |
| 2009-10 | India | M S Dhoni | Kumar Sangakkara | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | India | |
| 2010 | Sri Lanka | M S Dhoni | Kumar Sangakkara | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Drawn | |
| 2015 | Sri Lanka | Virat Kohli | Angelo Mathews | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | India | |
| 2017 | Sri Lanka | Virat Kohli | Rangana Herath# | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | India | |
+ played as part of the Asian Test Championship
~Virender Sehwag captained in the third Test
# Dinesh Chandimal captained in the last two Tests.
Head to Head:
| Tests | India | Sri Lanka | Drawn | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in India | 17 | 10 | 0 | 7 |
| in Sri Lanka | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 |
| TOTAL | 41 | 19 | 7 | 15 |
Summary of series results:
| Series | India | Sri Lanka | Drawn | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in India | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| in Sri Lanka | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| TOTAL | 16 | 8 | 3 |
Highest team totals
| Total | For | Venue | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 952/6d | Sri Lanka | Colombo RPS | 1997 |
| 760/7d | Sri Lanka | Ahmedabad | 2009-2010 |
| 726/9d | India | Mumbai Brabourne Stadium | 2009-2010 |
| 707 | India | Colombo SSC | 2010 |
| 676/7 | India | Kanpur | 1986-1987 |
| 642 | India | Kanpur | 2009-2010 |
| 642/4d | Sri Lanka | Colombo SSC | 2010 |
| 622/9d | India | Colombo SSC | 2017 |
| 610/6d | Sri Lanka | Colombo SSC | 2001 |
| 600/6d | Sri Lanka | Colombo SSC | 2008 |
| 600 | India | Galle | 2017 |
Lowest team totals:
| Total | For | Venue | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 82 | Sri Lanka | Chandigarh | 1990-1991 |
| 112 | India | Galle | 2015 |
| 119 | Sri Lanka | Ahmedabad | 1993-1994 |
| 134 | Sri Lanka | Colombo PSS | 2015 |
| 135 | Sri Lanka | Pallekele | 2017 |
| 136 | Sri Lanka | Galle | 2008 |
| 138 | India | Colombo SSC | 2008 |
| 141 | Sri Lanka | Nagpur | 1986-1987 |
| 142 | Sri Lanka | Cuttack | 1986-1987 |
Individual Hundreds:
India: 59. In Sri Lanka: 32. In India: 27
Sri Lanka: 46. In Sri Lanka: 37. In India: 9
Highest Individual Innings:
| Runs | Batsman | Venue | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 340 | Sanath Jayasuriya | Colombo RPS | 1997 |
| 293 | Virender Sehwag | Mumbai Brabourne Stadium | 2009-2010 |
| 275 | Mahela Jayawardene | Ahmedabad | 2009-2010 |
| 242 | Mahela Jayawardene | Colombo SSC | 1998-1999 |
| 225 | Rohan Mahanama | Colombo RPS | 1997 |
| 219 | Kumar Sangakkara | Colombo SSC | 2010 |
| 203 | Sachin Tendulkar | Colombo SSC | 2010 |
| 201* | Virender Sehwag | Galle | 2008 |
| 199 | Mohammed Azharuddin | Kanpur | 1986-1987 |
| 199 | Sanath Jayasuriya | Colombo SSC | 1997 |
Most runs in a series:
| Series | in | Tests | Runs | Highest Score | Avg | 100s | 50s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 1997 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 571 | 340 | 190.33 | 2 | 0 |
| Virender Sehwag | 2009-2010 | India | 3 | 491 | 293 | 122.75 | 2 | 1 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 2010 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 467 | 219 | 116.75 | 2 | 1 |
| Rahul Dravid | 2009-2010 | Ind | 3 | 433 | 177 | 108.25 | 2 | 1 |
| Aravinda de Silva | 1997 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 392 | 146 | 130.67 | 3 | 0 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 1997 | Ind | 3 | 392 | 173 | 98.00 | 2 | 1 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 2010 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 390 | 203 | 78.00 | 1 | 2 |
| Dilip Vengsarkar | 1986-1987 | India | 3 | 376 | 166 | 125.33 | 2 | 1 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | 2009-2010 | India | 3 | 373 | 275 | 74.60 | 1 | 0 |
Leading run-scorers in India-Sri Lanka Tests:
| Mts | Runs | Highest Score | Average | 100 | 50 | 0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 25 | 1,995 | 203 | 60.45 | 9 | 6 | 0 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | 18 | 1,822 | 275 | 67.48 | 6 | 8 | 1 |
| Rahul Dravid | 20 | 1,508 | 177 | 48.64 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 17 | 1,352 | 219 | 52.00 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Aravinda de Silva | 19 | 1,252 | 148 | 41.73 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Virender Sehwag | 11 | 1,239 | 293 | 72.88 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Mohammed Azharuddin | 17 | 1,215 | 199 | 55.22 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 14 | 1,064 | 173 | 46.26 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 10 | 938 | 340 | 67.00 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Navjot Sidhu | 11 | 935 | 131 | 71.92 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Roshan Mahanama | 12 | 924 | 225 | 46.20 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| V V S Laxman | 13 | 900 | 104 | 47.36 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
5 wicket innings hauls:
India: 23. In India: 13. In Sri Lanka: 10
Sri Lanka: 25. In India: 7. In Sri Lanka: 18
10 wicket match hauls
India: 7. In India: 5. In Sri Lanka: 2
Sri Lanka: 3. In India: 0. In Sri Lanka: 3
Best bowling figures (innings):
| Figures | Bowler | Venue | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/87 | M Muralitharan | Colombo SSC | 2001 |
| 7/48 | Rangana Herath | Galle | 2015 |
| 7/51 | Maninder Singh | Nagpur | 1986-1987 |
| 7/59 | Anil Kumble | Lucknow | 1993-1994 |
| 7/62 | Harbhajan Singh | Ahmedabad | 2005-2006 |
| 7/100 | M Muralitharan | Delhi | 2005-2006 |
| 6/12 | Venkatapathy Raju | Chandigarh | 1990-1991 |
| 6/26 | M Muralitharan | Colombo SSC | 2008 |
| 6/46 | Ravinchandran Ashwin | Galle | 2015 |
| 6/72 | Anil Kumble | Delhi | 2005-2006 |
| 6/85 | Rumesh Ratnayake | Colombo SSC | 1985 |
| 6/87 | Venkatapathy Raju | Ahmedabad | 1993-1994 |
| 6/102 | Harbhajan Singh | Galle | 2008 |
| 6/117 | Ajantha Mendis | Galle | 2008 |
Best bowling figures (match):
| Figures | Bowler | Venue | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11-110 | M Muralitharan (SL) | Colombo SSC | 2008 |
| 11-125 | SLV Raju (Ind) | Ahmedabad | 1993-94 |
| 11-128 | A Kumble (Ind) | Lucknow | 1993-94 |
| 11-196 | M Muralitharan (SL) | Colombo SSC | 2001 |
| 10-107 | Maninder Singh (Ind) | Nagpur | 1986-87 |
| 10-141 | Harbhajan Singh (Ind) | Ahmedabad | 2005-06 |
| 10-153 | Harbhajan Singh (Ind) | Galle | 2008 |
| 10-157 | A Kumble (Ind) | Delhi | 2005-06 |
| 10-160 | R Ashwin (Ind) | Galle | 2015 |
| 10-209 | BAW Mendis (SL) | Galle | 2008 |
Most wickets in a series:
| Series | in | Tests | Wickets | Best | Average | 5I | 10M | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajantha Mendis | 2008 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 26 | 6/117 | 18.38 | 2 | 1 |
| M Muralitharan | 2001 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 23 | 8/87 | 19.30 | 2 | 1 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 2015 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 21 | 6/46 | 18.10 | 2 | 1 |
| M Muralitharan | 2008 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 21 | 6/26 | 22.24 | 2 | 1 |
| Anil Kumble | 2005-06 | India | 3 | 20 | 6/72 | 18.70 | 2 | 1 |
| Rumesh Ratnayake | 1985-86 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 20 | 6/85 | 22.95 | 2 | 0 |
Leading wicket-takers in India-Sri Lanka Tests:
| Tests | Wickets | Best | Average | 5I | 10M | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Muralitharan | 22 | 105 | 8/87 | 32.61 | 7 | 2 |
| Anil Kumble | 18 | 74 | 7/59 | 31.20 | 4 | 2 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 16 | 53 | 7/62 | 39.77 | 2 | 2 |
| Kapil Dev | 14 | 45 | 5/110 | 26.55 | 1 | 0 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 6 | 38 | 6/46 | 21.58 | 3 | 1 |
| Ajantha Mendis | 6 | 34 | 6/117 | 29.00 | 2 | 1 |
| Rangana Herath | 9 | 32 | 7/48 | 45.97 | 2 | 0 |
| Chamanda Vaas | 14 | 30 | 4/20 | 44.76 | 0 | 0 |
| Zaheer Khan | 9 | 28 | 5/72 | 38.71 | 1 | 0 |
| Ishant Sharma | 10 | 28 | 5/54 | 38.64 | 1 | 0 |
| Venkatapathy Raju | 5 | 26 | 6/12 | 14.84 | 3 | 1 |
| Rumesh Ratnayake | 6 | 26 | 6/85 | 29.07 | 2 | 0 |