Top 10 Indian Performances Against Sri Lanka in Tests

We are at the brink of another India – Sri Lanka series. Sometimes, you feel cricket boards squeeze more out of a relationship than they should. Given how many ODI bilateral series the two teams have played, they know each other’s style of playing, the players and the strategies way too well. But, to be accurate, the two teams have not played as many Tests as they have ODIs. In 35 Tests, India has an upper hand with 14 wins. Those wins have come at the back of some sensational individual performances by players like Virender Sehwag, who almost always found a different gear when playing with Sri Lanka. Here, we look at a mixture of batting and bowling performances that helped India post stunning victories against their sub-continental rivals, both at home and away. Given the nature of pitches through the 90s and early 2000s and Sri Lanka’s evolutionary stages prior to that, we look at performances that marked a fight more than being a check on the quantity of runs or wickets. Please note that they are not in any specific order given how these matches have been played under varying conditions during a long stretch of time, making comparisons redundant and inaccurate.

#1 Virender Sehwag, 201*, Galle

The 2nd Test in Galle of a drawn series in 2008 witnessed one of the best Test innings ever by an Indian batsman, away from home. There are many spectacular aspects of that innings. For starters, he scored an unbeaten double ton. He carried his bat. Secondly, his 201* came off just 231 balls, one of the fastest double centuries in Test cricket with 22 fours and four sixes. Thirdly, the 201 was close to 60% of the final Indian total of 329. Only Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman reached double figures with 56 and 39. Sehwag followed it up with another blistering half-century in the second innings as India eventually won the game by 170 runs.