India begins its long tour of Sri Lanka tomorrow and will look to capitalise on Sri Lanka’s relative lack of experience. The Sri Lankans have long been traditional rivals for India and are considered a good team at home to play.
Over the years that the two teams have played cricket, there have been some battles and performances that have stood out for India. Here is a look at 5 of the best performances in Sri Lanka by India:
Virender Sehwag, 201:
An innings that Rahul Dravid proclaimed as Sehwag’s finest was peppered with boundaries and some brutal hitting from one of the best batsmen India has ever produced. Sehwag, in 2008 managed to take India to victory almost single-handedly after playing a masterful innings against a strong Sri Lankan bowling setup.
He attacked their main spinner, Ajantha Mendis despite the others falling to the guile of the Lankan. While batsmen fell all around, Sehwag stood firm and meted out some special treatment to Muralitharan and Mendis.
India ended up taking a lead and then bowling out the opposition to win the game by 170 runs.
Sachin Tendulkar, 203:
India played the Lankans in a Test at Colombo and were batting in the second innings. They were asked to chase a score of 642 to take the lead and Sachin Tendulkar ensured that there would be no problems for India to do so.
He hit a masterful 203, with runs in all parts of the ground as India shone with a reply of 707. Even Sehwag had hit 99 and Raina made his century on debut to help India post the massive score on the board.
The interesting part was that Sachin was dropped at just 29 runs and then made the Sri Lankans pay for their mistake.
Sourav Ganguly, 147:
Back when Ganguly was a fresh faced batsman who was making waves in Indian cricket, he played an excellent innings in Colombo to remind everyone of his class. Coming in after Sachin had scored a wonderful 139, Ganguly added to their woes by taking over.
He contributed to a 150 run partnership with Sachin before batting in tandem with the tail-enders and added 99 more runs to the score.
Ganguly finished with 147 from 312 balls with 19 fours and 2 sixes.
VVS Laxman, 103:
The stylish and elegant batsman registered an impressive century on Lankan soil back in 2010 at the RPS in Colombo. Despite suffering from a back injury, Laxman was at the crease as India was chasing a score of 257 on a tricky pitch.
He negotiated the pitch well despite the loss of Tendulkar and played with Suresh Raina and helped India equal the series. His 12 fours were classy and played elegantly and ensured India won the match.
Ajinkya Rahane, 126:
Having proved his mettle away from home, Rahane played a brilliant innings to score his first Test hundred on Lankan soil. Rahane hit ten boundaries in his brilliant 126-run knock. India won the match by 278 runs and Rahane played a crucial role in the comprehensive win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePjp7Ed39_E
