5 most memorable India-Sri Lanka ODIs in history

The rivalry between India and Sri Lanka dates back to the 1979 ODI World Cup when the latter got a surprising win against their Asian neighbours. It may not be as intense a rivalry as the one between India and Pakistan, the two sides have seen plenty of each other over the years.

In fact, India have played more ODIs against Sri Lanka than any other side in international cricket - 158 to be precise - and are all set to lock horns yet again, when they face off in the upcoming tri-series tournament titled Nidahas Trophy which has Bangladesh as the third side in the fray.

India and Sri Lanka have been involved in a number of exciting clashes over the years and here we take a look at the top five memorable contests between the two sides in the 50-over format.

#5 3rd ODI, Sri Lanka tour of India at Jaipur, Oct 31, 2005

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 298/4; India 303/4 (46.1/50 overs)

Result: India won by six wickets (with 23 balls remaining)

The Sri Lankan side that visited India in the 2006/07 season had a torrid time right from the word go and the loss to Mumbai Cricket Association President's XI in their opening tour match served as a sign of things to come.

Sri Lanka headed into to the third ODI of the seven-match series at Jaipur on the back of losses in the first two ODIs and it was not going to get any better for the Marvan Atapattu-led side as they suffered at the hands of MS Dhoni's onslaught.

Kumar Sangakkara's unbeaten 138 had helped Sri Lanka to a very good total of 298 in their 50 overs but it proved far from enough in the end as Dhoni single-handedly took the match away from the opposition with his big-hitting.

Dhoni's 145-ball 183, which included ten sixes and 15 boundaries, is still the highest score by a wicketkeeper-batsman in ODIs and he finished the game off with a six which would go on to become a habit of sorts in Dhoni's illustrious career which is far from finished.

#4 2011 ODI World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on April 2, 2011

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 274/6; India 277/4 (48.2/50 overs)

Result: India won by 6 wickets (with 10 balls remaining)

The helicopter shot by Dhoni that sealed the 2011 World Cup for India

The 2011 ODI World Cup between India and Sri Lanka will forever be etched in the hearts of all Indian cricket fans across the globe with that image of skipper MS Dhoni finishing things off with that famous helicopter sixer being an everlasting memory.

Playing in front of their home crowd, India had a big advantage leading into the contest but the victory was far from easy. The hosts made a good start, containing the opposition scoring, and also got the prized wicket of Kumar Sangakkara two runs short of his half-century.

However, the other veteran stalwart in the Sri Lankan side, Mahela Jayawardene, played a superb knock, remaining unbeaten on 103 runs off 88 balls, and along with a late onslaught from Thisira Perera helped push the total to 274 in their 50 overs.

The pressure of chasing in a World Cup final is always something else and it showed as India lost both their openers - Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag - with just 31 runs on the board.

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli steadied things along, but when the latter was dismissed for 35, India still needed 161 runs to win and while the whole crowd waited for Man-of-the-Tournament Yuvraj Singh to come into the middle, it was MS Dhoni who promoted himself up the order.

It was a decision that totally tilted the match's balance in India's favour but the role played by Gambhir cannot be counted out. He fell three runs short of a deserved century but it was a gutsy knock that played a huge role in the final outcome of the match.

Dhoni was simply outstanding on the day and controlled the pace of the match perfectly, maintaining his composure and waiting for the bad balls to dispatch to the boundary.

It was fitting that Dhoni finished things off with that spectacular shot with Yuvraj batting at the other end as billions of Indian spectators celebrated their first World Cup triumph since 2011.

#3 Final, West Indies Tri-Nation Series at Port of Spain, Jul 11, 2013

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 201; India 203/9 (49.4 overs)

Result: India won by 1 wicket (with 2 balls remaining)

Ishant Sharma lifts Dhoni in jubilation after the latter's heroics guided India to an unbelievable victory

The tri-nation tournament in the West Indies in 2013 involving the hosts, India and Sri Lanka had a memorable final to finish things off with the Men in Blue triumphing over the latter in a low-scoring thriller.

Indian skipper MS Dhoni got it right at the toss and chose to send the opposition into bat but it seemed an unwise decision as Sri Lanka made a solid start and it seemed that they were well on their way to score in excess of 250.

However, once the 122-run stand for the third wicket between Lahiru Thirimane and Kumar Sangakkara was broken, Sri Lanka kept losing wickets in a heap and were eventually bowled out for 201, losing their final eight wickets for just 32 runs.

A low total it might have been but the wicket was not an easy one to bat on and coupled with the pressure of chasing in a final, India were unable to stitch together a big partnership and kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Veteran spinner Rangana Herath's four-wicket haul made it an extremely tough situation for India as they needed another 50 runs when they lost their seventh wicket.

Skipper MS Dhoni, however, kept his cool as always, guarding his wicket at one end and was aided by some stiff resistance from the Indian tail-enders but the stranglehold that the Sri Lankan bowlers were able to exert meant that India required 15 off the final over with one wicket in hand when at one stage they just needed 37 off the final 10 overs.

Dhoni ordered a new bat from the dressing room for the final over and despite missing out on the first, clobbered the next three deliveries for a six, four and yet another six to script a memorable win and with that, the tri-series trophy, for his side with 2 balls remaining.

#2 11th Match, Commonwealth Bank Series at Hobart, Feb 28, 2012

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 320/4; India 321/3 (36.3 overs)

Result: India won the match by 6 wickets

Virat Kohli was unstoppable on the day as India got the job done in quick time

The 2007-08 edition of the Commonwealth Tri-Series in Australia was a memorable one for India as they defeated the hosts in the best-of-three finals by winning the first two matches thanks to match-winning knocks by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in both the games.

Sri Lanka was the third team in the fray yet again when the Indian team toured Australia in 2011-12, but this time around, the Men in Blue had a tough time Down Under and were left with needing to win their final match of the group stage against Sri Lanka inside 40 overs to have any chance of making it to the finals of the tri-series.

Sri Lanka had no intention of making it an easy task for India as centuries by Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara saw them score 320/4 in their 50 overs after being put into bat by Indian skipper MS Dhoni who won the toss.

However, the Indian team were not short on firepower themselves with Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar getting off to a flying start.

Gautam Gambhir, who came in at the number three spot also kept up the scoring rate with a knock of 63 but the man who made the difference on the day was a young Virat Kohli who was unstoppable on the day scoring an 86-ball 133, which included 16 boundaries and two sixes.

Kohli remained unbeaten alongside Suresh Raina, who made 40 off just 24 balls to help India chase down the daunting target with more than 13 overs to spare.

The result would however inconsequential in the end as Sri Lanka's win over Australia in the final group match saw them join the hosts in the final.

#1 1st ODI, Sri Lanka tour of India at Rajkot, Dec 15, 2009

Brief Scores: India 414/7; Sri Lanka411/8 (50 overs)

Result: India won by 3 runs

Sehwag's blistering knock helped India post a mammoth total but it was far from comfortable for the hosts

The opening match of the 5-match ODI series between India and Sri Lanka turned out to be a high-scoring nail-biter in which the hosts only managed to scrape through narrowly despite scoring a mammoth total of 414 in their 50 overs.

Put into bat by Sri Lanka, India made a quick-fire start with the opening duo on Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag firing on all cylinders. The latter eventually went on to score 146 off just 102 balls while Tendulkar and MS Dhoni scored 69 and 72 respectively.

A late flourish from Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja saw India cross the 400-run mark and it seemed like the game was all done and dusted at the half-way mark.

However, Sri Lanka were not going to give in without a fight and skipper Kumar Sangakkara led from the front with a 43-ball 90 and along with Tillakaratne Dilshan, who scored 160 off just 124 balls and Upul Tharanga, who scored 67 off 60 balls, the visitors had their noses well and truly in front having crossed the 300-run mark in the 36th over.

Sri Lanka lost the trio of Sanath Jayasuriya, Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene in quick intervals but still kept their scoring rate high and at one stage required just 32 of 5 overs to win the match.

With 5 wickets in hand, it seemed an easily achievable task but the hosts made a remarkable turnaround with the left-arm duo of Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra bringing all their experience into play to put a stranglehold on the Sri Lankan scoring and aided by a couple of run-outs in the 49th over, India eventually ended up winning the contest by a margin of 3 runs.

The 2nd ODI of the series also went all the way down to the wire, but this time, it was the visitors who triumphed, chasing down the target of 302 with 5 balls remaining and three wickets in hand.