Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
Just over two months ago, India inflicted a 9-0 thrashing of Sri Lanka on their own soil. It was like a team of 25 year olds playing a team of players aged 13. Sri Lanka didn’t stand a chance.
Will there be a repeat?
After engaging in successful limited overs series against Australia and New Zealand, India shift their focus to Test cricket, and will be looking to maintain its no.1 ranking ahead of a huge tour of South Africa. The question beckons for India – will they have one eye on that tour, or will their focus be 100% on Sri Lanka?
Despite the risk of complacency and lack of focus, India look quite settled ahead of this series, welcoming back a host of stars. Virat Kohli will especially be wanting good things from his seam bowlers on what seems a lively Eden Gardens track, with the South Africa tour coming up.
However, if India’s focus is not 100% on this series, this represents a real opportunity for Sri Lanka. The Lions are talking about an improved culture thanks to the learnings of arguably their worst home performance ever v India, as well as a surprise 2-0 win in the UAE over Pakistan recently.
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| Sri Lanka achieved a fantastic 2-0 series win over Pakistan recently. |
Sri Lanka will be boosted by the return of Angelo Mathews, especially considering how inexperienced their squad is. To stand any sort of chance, they desperately need their senior players to step up. Nobody (except India fans) wants to see Sri Lanka 4/40 with inexperienced players trying to dig their team out of a hole.
Key to an India win
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| India thrashed Sri Lanka on their own soil |
Key to a Sri Lanka win
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| Dimuth Karunaratne has had a solid 2017 in Test cricket |
Predicted teams:
Stats & Facts:
- Sri Lanka have never won a Test in India. Out of 10 losses, eight have come by an innings, which is the most out of any Test nation visiting India.
- India recently thrashed Sri Lanka 3-0 in the Test series, and two victories came by an innings.
- India have won four Tests in a row, and five of their last six.
- Dimuth Karunaratne is just 60 runs away from reaching 1,000 Test runs for the year. He has scored 940 runs at an average of 47.00.
- Out of the top 25 Test run scorers in 2017, Cheteshwar Pujara has the best average (851 runs at 70.91)
- Sri Lanka have lost 12 ODIs in a row, but have won their last two Tests. In the process, they became the first team to ever beat Pakistan in a Test series in the UAE since 2009.
- Rangana Herath averages 45.96 v India in Tests. Against all other nations, he has taken 373 wickets at an average of 26.26.
- Ravichandran Ashwin is just 8 wickets away from 300 Test wickets. He is on track to becoming the fastest ever to the mark.
- Shikhar Dhawan in the Test tour of Sri Lanka recently: 358 runs in 4 innings at an average of 89.50.
