Sunday Sep 22, 2024
Sunday Sep 22, 2024
Saturday, 31 December 2022 01:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Sri Lanka has history in the making when they make a tour to India for the two white ball series – 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs as they have never won a series in these two formats in India.
The current tour affords them the opportunity to put the record straight.
The nearest Sri Lanka have come to beating India in the T20 format is in 2009-10 when they shared the two-match series 1-all. Other than that, they have lost the next four series played there, the last occasion being in February this year by a 3-0 margin.
Of the 14 T20Is played between the two sides in India, Sri Lanka has won just two matches, whilst at the same time losing 11 with one match ending in a no-result.
In the ODIs also, Sri Lanka’s best performance has been a drawn series 1-all in 1997. Apart from that they have failed in nine attempts to win an ODI series in India. The last occasion the two teams met was in 2017 when India won 2-1.
A total of 41 ODIs have taken place in India between the two sides with Sri Lanka recording only eight wins as against India’s 30 with 3 ending in no-results.
The 3-match ODI series against India starting at Guwahati on 10 January is not part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, so there will be no extra pressure on the players to win. Sri Lanka’s next assignment in the World Cup Super League is in New Zealand where they play their final ODI series consisting of three matches in March.
With India going through a transitional period dropping several of their senior players from the T20 squad after their failure to make it to the final of the T20 World Cup, Dasun Shanaka’s men have a good opportunity to seize the chance to create history. The tour commences with the T20I series on 3 January at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The 20-member Lankan team leaves for India today.
