3-Match Test Series Schedule
- First Test @ Galle International Stadium,Galle Aug 12 - 16,2015
- Second Test @ P Sara Oval,Colombo Aug 20-24,2015
- Third Test @ Sinhalese Sports Club,Colombo Aug 28 - Sep 01,2015
For a relatively young Team India, a series win will be easier said than done.
India have played just one Test this year (drawn one-off Test against Bangladesh in June 2015)
and Kohli's form has been rather indifferent in the ODI arena where he hasn't scored a hundred since February 2015
While being one of the dominant forces in the sub-continent for more than a half a century, India somehow have always managed to falter against Sri Lanka.
But to give the credit to the Lankans, they have had the services of some really great spinners in the past with Muttiah Muralitharan leading the pack. To add to that, India failed to solve the Ajantha Mendis conundrum when they visited the Lankan soil in 2008 apart from Sehwag who scored a gritty double century at Galle when the rest of the batting order failed to perform.
Drawing parallels to above the statement, this tour has its own significance as India have not won a series in Sri Lanka for 22 years.
India have played six bilateral Test series on the Lankan soil and the only time that the Indians managed to tame the Lions was way back in 1993
Factors that make this series more important than it seems
Virat Kohli has not played any Test in Sri Lanka yet, even after 34 Test matches on his CV.
Harbhajan Singh, who is on a comeback trail, will be an important cog in the team's wheel.With 416 wickets in 102 Tests, Harbhajan perfectly fits into the team's scheme of things and he will be a mentor for the rest of the pack.
Legspinnner Mishra has made a comeback to India's Test team after a gap of four years. The Delhi man last played in whites in England in 2011. Mishra has been brought in as a replacement for the injured Karn Sharma, who was the only omission from the 15-member squad that went to Bangladesh.
In the Indian team, the spin trio of Harbhajan, Ashwin and Mishra will be the key to find the chinks in the Sri Lankan batting order.
Spin has always been the strength for both the teams. Over the years, the Sri Lankans were aided with Muralitharan and Kumar Dharmasena. Then came Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath, Suraj Randiv and Sachithra Senanayake, who carried on the legacy.
Sri Lanka's batting great Sangakkara will retire during the series - something which adds to the significance of the tour.He will play two of the three Tests against India before calling time on his illustrious career after the second Test in Colombo. Since making his Test debut in July 2000, Sangakkara has so far played 132 Tests amassing 12,305 runs and 38 centuries - the most by any batsman still playing Tests, way above second-placed Alastair Cook of England who has 9,000 runs and 27 hundreds
Kumar Sangakkara may be below record-holder Sachin Tendulkar's Test tally of 15,921 runs and 51 hundreds, but his 11 scores of 200-plus are just one short of Australia's Don Bradman's record of 12.
Once considered a replacement for the great Rahul Dravid, Cheteshwar Pujara lost his place in the team following a poor show in England and Australia. Pujara's last half-century came at Adelaide in December 2014, while the last time the 27-year-old touched the three-figure mark was in November 2013 against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium.
In his last 10 Test matches, Pujara has a batting average of 24.15. The run of poor form led to India dropping him for the final Test of their Australia tour, and he has been on the bench ever since.
India - Sri Lanka Head-to-Head in Test Matches
Total tests = 35 (upto July 2015)
India won 14, Sri Lanka won 6, Draw 14.
In India = 17 = India won 10. Sri Lanka won 0, Draw 7.
In Sri Lanka = 18, Sri Lanka won 6. India won 4, Draw = 7
| India vs Sri Lanka, test match head to head. | ||||
| Match | Winner | Margin | Venue | Date |
| 35th India v Sri Lanka test | India | 5 wkts | Colombo | 3 Aug 2010 |
| 34th India v Sri Lanka test | draw | Colombo | 26 Jul 2010 | |
| 33rd India v Sri Lanka test | Sri Lanka | 10 wkts | Galle | 18 Jul 2010 |
| 32nd India v Sri Lanka test | India | inns + 24 runs | Mumbai | 2 Dec 2009 |
| 31nd India v Sri Lanka test | India | inns + 144 runs | Kanpur | 24 Nov 2009 |
| 30th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Ahmedabad | 16 Nov 2009 | |
| 29th India v Sri Lanka test | Sri Lanka | 8 wickets | Colombo | 8 Aug 2008 |
| 28th India v Sri Lanka test | India | 170 runs | Galle | 31 Jul 2008 |
| 27th India v Sri Lanka test | Sri Lanka | inns + 239 runs | Colombo | 23 Jul 2008 |
| 26th India v Sri Lanka test | India | 259 runs | Ahmedabad | 18 Dec 2005 |
| 25th India v Sri Lanka test | India | 188 runs | Delhi | 10 Dec 2005 |
| 24th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Chennai | 2 Dec 2005 | |
| 23rd India v Sri Lanka test | Sri Lanka | inns + 77 runs | Colombo (SSC) | 29 Aug 2001 |
| 22nd India v Sri Lanka test | India | 7 wickets | Kandy | 22 Aug 2001 |
| 21st India v Sri Lanka test | Sri Lanka | 10 wickets | Galle | 14 Aug 2001 |
| 20th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Colombo (SSC) | 24 Feb 1999 | |
| 19th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Mumbai | 3 Dec 1997 | |
| 18th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Nagpur | 27 Nov 1997 | |
| 17th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Mohali | 19 Nov 1997 | |
| 16th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Colombo (SSC) | 9 Aug 1997 | |
| 15th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Colombo (RPS) | 2 Aug 1997 | |
| 14th India v Sri Lanka test | India | inns + 17 runs | Ahmedabad | 8 Feb 1994 |
| 13th India v Sri Lanka test | India | inns + 95 runs | Bengaluru | 26 Jan 1994 |
| 12th India v Sri Lanka test | India | inns + 119 runs | Lucknow | 18 Jan 1994 |
| 11th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Colombo (PSS) | 4 Aug 1993 | |
| 10th India v Sri Lanka test | India | 235 runs | Colombo (SSC) | 27 Jul 1993 |
| 9th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Kandy | 17 Jul 1993 | |
| 8th India v Sri Lanka test | India | inns + 8 runs | Chandigrah | 23 Nov 1990 |
| 7th India v Sri Lanka test | India | inns + 67 runs | Cuttack | 4 Jan 1987 |
| 6th India v Sri Lanka test | India | inns + 106 runs | Nagpur | 27 Dec 1986 |
| 5th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Kanpur | 17 Dec 1986 | |
| 4th India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Kandy | 14 Sep 1985 | |
| 3rd India v Sri Lanka test | Sri Lanka | 149 runs | Colombo (PSS) | 6 Sep 1985 |
| 2nd India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Colombo (SSC) | 20 Aug 1985 | |
| 1st India v Sri Lanka test | Draw | Chennai | 17 Sep 1982 | |
Highest Individual Scores
| Batsman (Country) | Score | Balls | 4s | 6s | Venue | Date |
| Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) | 340 | 578 | 36 | 2 | Colombo (RPS) | 2-Aug-1997 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 242 | 465 | 30 | 2 | Colombo (SSC) | 24-Feb-1999 |
| Roshan Mahanama (SL) | 225 | 561 | 27 | 0 | Colombo (RPS) | 2-Aug-1997 |
| Virendra Sehwag (India) | 201* | 231 | 22 | 4 | Galle | 31-Jul-2008 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin (Ind) | 199 | N/R | 16 | 1 | Kanpur | 17-Dec-1986 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) | 199 | 226 | 21 | 2 | Colombo (SSC) | 9-Aug-1997 |
| Sunil Gawaskar (India) | 176 | 302 | 22 | 0 | Kanpur | 17-Dec-1986 |
| Saurav Ganguly (India) | 173 | 361 | 25 | 2 | Mumbai | 3-Dec-1997 |
| Dulip Vengsarkar (India) | 166 | 279 | 14 | 0 | Cuttack | 4-Jan-1987 |
| Kapil Dev (India) | 163 | 165 | 19 | 1 | Kanpur | 17-Dec-1986 |
| Sunil Gawaskar (India) | 155 | 293 | 24 | 1 | Chennai | 17-Sep-1982 |
| Dulip Vengsarkar (India) | 153 | N/R | N/R | 0 | Nagpur | 27-Dec-1986 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin (Ind) | 152 | 260 | 16 | 1 | Ahmedabad | 8-Feb-1994 |
| Roshan Mahanama (SL) | 151 | 362 | 19 | 0 | Colombo (PSS) | 4-Aug-1993 |
Sanath reached his 100 from 138 balls, 200 from 327 balls and then 300 from 518 balls. In total, Sanath Jayasuriya scored 340 runs from 578 balls which still rests as second highest individual score by a Sri Lankan batsman in test cricket.
201 from only 231 balls with 22 fours and 4 fours by Virendra Sehwag is the highest score by an Indian batsman against Sri Lanka in tests
| Highest team totals in India vs Srilanka test matches. | |||||
| Team | Total | Overs | Inns | Venue | Date |
| Sri Lanka | 952/6d | 271.0 | 2 | Colombo (RPS) | 2-Aug-1997 |
| Sri Lanka | 760/7 | 202.4 | 2 | Ahmedabad | 16-Nov-2009 |
| India | 726/9 | 163.3 | 2 | Mumbai | 4-Dec-2009 |
| India | 676/7 | 167.1 | 2 | Kanpur | 17-Dec-1986 |
| Sri Lanka | 610/6d | 171.0 | 2 | Colombo (SSC) | 29-Aug-2001 |
| Sri Lanka | 600/6d | 162.0 | 1 | Colombo (SSC) | 23-Jul-2008 |
| India | 566/6d | 131.0 | 2 | Chennai | 17-Sep-1982 |
| India | 541/6d | 161.0 | 1 | Bangalore | 26-Jan-1994 |
| India | 537/8d | 167.3 | 1 | Colombo (RPS) | 2-Aug-1997 |
| India | 518/7d | 142.5 | 1 | Colombo (SSC) | 24-Feb-1999 |
| India | 515/9d | 206.5 | 2 | Mohali | 19-Nov-1997 |
| India | 512/10 | 162.1 | 1 | Mumbai | 3-Dec-1997 |
| India | 511/10 | 161.5 | 1 | Lucknow | 18-Jan-1994 |
Sanath Jayasuriya was the main architech of that mamoth score, along with his partner Roshan Mahanama. Together, this left and right hand combination put on 576 runs which was also the then highest partnership in all tests. Sanath Jayasuriya made 340 from 578 balls with 36 fours and 2 sixes while Roshan Mahanama contributed 225 runs batting at number 3 from 561 balls with 27 fours
676/7 dec is India's highest total in a test match against Sri Lanka, which they made at Green Park stadium in Kanpur. Sri Lanka had scored healthy 420 batting first to which Indians replied with three individual centuries. Opener Sunil Gawaskar made 176, Kapil Dev made 163 while Mohammad Azharuddin became the then 2nd only batsman to get out on 199 (after Muddasar Nazar of Pakistan
| Best Bowling figures in an innings in India vs Sri Lanka test match. | ||||||
| Bowler (Country) | O | M | R | W | Venue | Date |
| Muthiah Muralitharan (SL) | 34.1 | 9 | 87 | 8 | Colombo (SSC) | 29-Aug-2001 |
| Maninder Singh (India) | 17.4 | 4 | 51 | 7 | Nagpur | 27-Dec-1986 |
| Anil Kumble (India) | 27.3 | 9 | 59 | 7 | Lucknow | 18-Jan-1994 |
| Harbhajan Singh (India) | 22.2 | 3 | 62 | 7 | Ahmedabad | 18-Dec-2005 |
| Muthiah Muralitharan (SL) | 38.4 | 8 | 100 | 7 | Delhi | 10-Dec-2005 |
| Venkatpathi Raju (India) | 17.5 | 13 | 12 | 6 | Mohali | 23-Nov-1990 |
| Muthiah Muralitharan (SL) | 13.0 | 3 | 26 | 6 | Colombo (SSC) | 23-Jul-2008 |
| Anil Kumble (India) | 28.0 | 6 | 72 | 6 | Delhi | 10-Dec-2005 |
| Ranil Ratnayake (SL) | 41.0 | 10 | 85 | 6 | Colombo (SSC) | 30-Aug-1985 |
| Venkatpathi Raju (India) | 32.3 | 9 | 87 | 6 | Ahmedabad | 8-Feb-1994 |
| Harbhajan Singh (India) | 40.3 | 8 | 102 | 6 | Galle | 31-Jul-2008 |
| Ajantha Mendis (SL) | 28.0 | 1 | 117 | 6 | Galle | 31-Jul-2008 |
| Best Bowling figures in a match (2 Inns) in India vs Srilanka test match | ||||||
| Bowler (Country) | O | M | R | W | Venue | Date |
| Muthiah Muralitharan (SL) | 42.0 | 7 | 110 | 11 | Colombo (SSC) | 23-Jul-2008 |
| Venkatpathi Raju (India) | 56.2 | 16 | 125 | 11 | Ahmedabad | 8-Feb-1994 |
| Anil Kumble (India) | 64.3 | 19 | 128 | 11 | Lucknow | 18-Jan-1994 |
| Muthiah Muralitharan (SL) | 81.0 | 26 | 196 | 11 | Colombo (SSC) | 29-Aug-2001 |
| Maninder Singh (India) | 37.4 | 10 | 107 | 10 | Nagpur | 27-Dec-1986 |
| Harbhajan Singh (India) | 53.2 | 10 | 141 | 10 | Ahmedabad | 18-Dec-1986 |
| Harbhajan Singh (India) | 54.3 | 9 | 153 | 10 | Galle | 31-Jul-2008 |
| Anil Kumble (India) | 64.0 | 13 | 157 | 10 | Delhi | 10-Dec-2005 |
| Ajantha Mendis (SL) | 55.2 | 5 | 209 | 10 | Galle | 31-Jul-2008 |
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