Full Schedule for Sri Lanka's 2017 tour of India revealed

What's the story?

The complete schedule for Sri Lanka's upcoming tour of India has been finalised. Even though the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not made the official announcement yet, the full fixture list has been revealed by ESPNCricinfo upon verification with the venues which are slated to host the matches.

Sri Lanka's 2017 trip to India will comprise of 3 Tests, 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is. The tour will begin on November 16th with the first Test of the series at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Nagpur and Delhi are certain to host the remaining two Tests.

Cramped scheduling has resulted in just four days gap between the third Test and the first ODI. While the Test series is scheduled to come to an end on December 6, the opening ODI will be played on the 10th at the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. Mohali and Visakhapatnam will play host to the next two 50-over contests. The three T20Is will take place on the 20th, 22nd and 24th at Cuttack, Indore and Mumbai respectively.

The Background

India had recently completed an extremely successful tour of Sri Lanka. By winning all three Tests, five ODIs and the one-off T20I, Virat Kohli's troops had become the first team to complete a clean sweep across all three formats in the island nation.

The heart of the matter

Full Schedule for Sri Lanka's 2017 Tour of India

1st Test: November 16-20 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata

2nd Test: November 24-28 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur (Jamtha)

3rd Test: December 2-6 at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in Delhi

1st ODI: December 10 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala

2nd ODI: December 13 at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali

3rd ODI: December 17 at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam

1st T20I: December 20 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack

2nd T20I: December 22 at the Holkar Stadium in Indore

3rd T20I: December 24 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai

What's next?

The congested schedule for the home series against Sri Lanka has meant that India's subsequent visit to South Africa has got delayed. As a consequence of the packed calendar, the Indian team will only play three Tests (instead of the originally proposed four matches) in the Rainbow Nation. They will begin their South Africa sojourn with the first Test on January 5th at Cape Town.

Author's Take

Considering the fact that India had brushed them aside in their own den in the recently completed series, Sri Lanka will have their task cut out against an in-form and rampaging unit. Kohli's team will be looking to extend their dominance over their neighbours and consolidate their strong position in the ICC rankings.