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India is consistently performing well in this world cup. Men in blue has won every six games against Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand and England. In the last game against England India didn’t get to score even close to 250 but still with the help of fabulous bowling by Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah they won the game by 199 runs. Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumraah are the top performers in terms of runs and wickets. Today IND vs SL will take place at Wankhede, it’s their 7th game where India will look to register seventh win in the tournament and on the other hand Sri Lanka will try to keep alive their chances of qualifying.
Both teams have a very rich history in ODI cricket. Either it’s 1996 or 2011 Sri Lanka has always been the best competition for India. Both teams have met 167 times in this setup where India is leading this competition with 98-57. Current Sri Lankan team may look weak to beat India but there was a time when IND vs SL used to be tight and thrilling games. In World Cups both teams have won equally 4-4 in 9 games. Before the last World Cup Sri Lanka was leading this stat but India has made it equal by beating the sub continental team by 7 wickets. In these historical 167 games there are many of them which are unforgettable so let’s talk about five memorable games between IND vs SL.
IND vs SL, 2009-Rajkot
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It was the first game of a five match ODI series and Sri Lanka had asked India to bat first when coins fell on their side. Sri Lankan Captain Kumar Sangakkara has been proved wrong by the Indian top order. In the batting friendly pitch of Rajkot Indian openers Virendra Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar added 153 runs for the first wicket in just 19.3 overs. MS Dhoni has caveat number three and he also batted the same way and then they both(Virendra Sehwag and MS Dhoni) another 156 runs for the second wicket in just 16 overs. Virendra Sehwag has smashed 146 runs in 102 balls with 17 boundaries and 6 sixes.
India has scored a monstrous total of 414 runs with the loss of 7 wickets. Along with Sehwag, Sachin and Dhoni have also played crucial knocks. In reply Sri Lanka didn’t surrender, openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga had built a 188 runs partnership for the first wicket and then Dilshan added 128 runs more with Captain Sangakkara. Dilshan has scored 160 runs in 124 balls with 20 fours and 3 sixes. Sri Lanka with their batting made this giant total look so tiny and they brought the game to the last over. 11 runs required in the last over but Indian bowler Ashish Nehra somehow managed to control Sri Lankan lower order batter and stop them 3 runs prior to the target. Due to his outstanding innings Sehwag was the player of the match.
IND vs SL, 2014-Eden Garden
This game is remembered for Rohit Sharma. When India came out to bat after winning the toss no one was aware about what was going to happen that day. India lost their first wicket at 40, second at 59 and third also fell after 102 runs but another opener Rohit Sharma who came with Ajinkya Rahane was still holding one side. Rohit Sharma was continuously smashing Sri Lankan bowlers while wickets were falling from the other side. As soon Nuwan Kulasekara dismissed Rohit Sharma in the last ball of India’s inning he has scored the highest individual total in ODIs which was 264 runs in 173 with 33 fours and 9 sixes.
It was Rohit’s Second double century and he became the first batter in the world to score two double centuries in this format. In the second inning Sri Lanka didn’t even surpass Rohit’s score and summed up at 251 in 43.1 overs. Captain Angelo Mathews(75) was the highest scorer for Sri Lankan innings. Dhawal Kulkarni has taken most wickets. Rohit was the player of the match for his awesome inning.
IND vs SL, 2008 Asia Cup Final – Karachi
It was the final of 2008 Asia Cup where these two teams fought to hold the trophy. Before the final these two teams have faced each other at Karachi and India has chased down 308 in 46.5 overs which has made fans to presume the result for India. India has won the toss and choose to bowl, Indian bowlers proved the captain’s decision right by sending 3 Sri Lankan batters back to the pavilion at the total of 66. Sri Lanka somehow managed to score a challenging total of 273 and invited India to chase. India lost its first wicket on 36 in the form of Gautam Gambhir but Sehwag on the other side was looking great. When Sehwag fell apart at 60 and India lost their second wicket on 76 Indian batting order collapsed in front of Ajantha Mendis who picked 6 Indian batters to give nightmare. India unpredictably lost that game by 100 runs. Ajnata Mendis was the player of the match and series both he took 17 wickets in that Asia Cup.
India vs Sri Lanka, 1996 World Cup Final – Eden Garden
13 march 1996 is the day when the most controversial game has been played in Eden Gardens Kolkata. India and Sri Lanka were playing together for the semifinal of 1996 World Cup. Sri Lanka has been terrific in the field throughout the tournament; they haven’t lost any game in that World Cup before this game and on the other hand India wobbly reached the semifinals. In Eden Gardens when Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin has won the toss he decides to chase the target. Indian bowlers have tried to push Sri Lanka on the backfoot by giving initial damage. Sri Lankan top order has just scored 2 runs which include Sanath Jayasuriya but the top scorer of that world cup for Sri Lanka Arvind De Silva has handled their inning and brought it to a fighting total of 251 runs.
India has been very good with the bat. Sachin tendulkar was the highest scorer in that tournament, it was assumed that India would chase the target smoothly. Sachin and Sanjay were flawlessly reaching the target after getting an initial blow at 8. As soon as Sachin was dismissed after adding 65 runs to the total of 98, India got choked and lost another six wickets in 22 runs. When India was looking in trouble with 120-8 Indian fans went aggressive and got out of control, they started throwing water bottles in the grounds and put fire in the seats which stop the game Sri Lanka has been considered as the winners of the game and later on they end up winning the title by beating Australia in the final. Indian batter Vinod Kambli who was batting at that time and had to leave the ground due to that incident he later told that if the game was being continued he would have scored those left runs.
India vs Sri Lanka, 2011 World Cup Final – Wankhede
April 02, 2011 golden day in Indian Cricket history. It was the totally opposite game of the 1996 final. India was playing in the ODI World Cup final after eight years and Sri Lanka, who had reached the finals of 2007 but lost to Australia, was playing their second in a row in the World Cup Final. Indians had that 1996 game in their mind and they were looking to take revenge. On the other hand Sri Lanka was the far better squad than India, With Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, etc Sri Lanka has reached the finals by beating England and New Zealand in the knockouts. Sri Lanka was at their peak at that time and they wanted to win that World Cup for their captain Kumar Sangakkara, but destiny had something else in store. Sri Lanka came out to bat after winning the toss and with the help of a century by Mahela Jayawardene Sri Lanka has scored a fighting total of 277 runs.
Previously in that tournament Sri Lanka had managed to defend 265 runs against New Zealand and this was even 12 runs more than that. India gets into more trouble when their both experienced openers Virendra Sehwag(0) and Sachin Tendulkar(18) dismissed before 40 runs. After that Gautam Gambhir took the lead and then first added 83 runs with young Virat Kohli and then added 109 runs with Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and between this partnership Dhoni took the lead and after Gambhir departs at his individual score of 97 Dhoni managed to finish the game with Yuvraj Singh while 10 balls remaining with hitting a winning six. Dhoni was awarded as player of the match and Yuvraj Singh who has been great with both bat and ball was chosen to be player of the series.
Also read: MS Dhoni Reveals ’Emotionally High’ Moment From India’s Historic 2011 World Cup Final Win
