India vs Sri Lanka 2017: Reminiscing all ODI encounters at Visakhapatnam

Two matches, two vastly contrasting results, two teams, two very inconsistent performances, and the stage is set perfectly for a befitting finale in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, December 17.

Sri Lanka will not be too pleased with the venue as India have dominated proceedings in Vizag, where they have won five out of the six completed matches.

Here, in this slider, we reminisce about all the six encounters which have taken place at the Dr. Y.S. RAJASEKHARA REDDY ACA-VDCA CRICKET STADIUM, VISAKHAPATNAM.

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India vs Pakistan, April 5, 2005

Watch: MS Dhoni's brutal 148

The match when the world awoke to the phenomenon of a certain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to bat first on a belter of a track. However, the hosts did not get off to a bright start as Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed for a mere two runs.

However, a surprising promotion followed and in walked a young, promising, but under pressure MS Dhoni at number three. He started with caution but once he got in, there was no looking back. He plundered the Pakistan bowling attack and smashed his maiden ODI century to not only put a halt to a string of low scores but also help India get to a total of 356.

Pakistan did put in a fight, but the total was a bridge too far for them as they folded for 298 runs and India won the match by 58 runs.

Dhoni was the Man of the Match!

India vs Sri Lanka, February 17, 2007

Watch: Sehwag caught unawares as he loses his wicket

This was the fourth match of the series which was tied at 1-1 and the Indian captain invited the visitors to bat after he won the toss on a slightly tacky surface.

Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, and S Sreesanth vindicated this decision as they reduced Sri Lanka to 124 for 5.

However, a young Chamara Silva weathered the storm, dug in and scored a brilliant century to post a fighting total on the board. His run-a-ball 107 took his team to 259.

However, the Indian batting made light work of the total as the openers put on 92 for the first wicket.

Robin Uthappa scored 52, Sehwag notched up 48, and Sourav Ganguly slammed 58 to set up an easy win for the hosts by seven wickets with six overs remaining.

India won the series 2-1.

India vs Australia, Oct 20, 2010

Watch: Virat Kohli's brilliant century

Another high scoring affair took place at the venue as India locked horns with Australia.

MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first, but this decision was not a wise one as the Australian batsmen had a lot of fun on a flat deck and plundered the Indian bowling.

Captain Michael Clarke scored a superb century (111) and he was ably backed up by Michael Hussey who scored 69 and then by Cameron White who took the Indian bowling to the cleaners as he smoked a 49-ball 89.

Australia finished with 289 from their 50 overs.

India got off to the worst possible start as they lost Shikhar Dhawan for a duck and Murali Vijay when the score read 35.

However, the third wicket partnership between Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh snatched the momentum away from the Australians and when Yuvraj fell for 58, the score read 172.

Kohli was rock solid as he brought up yet another century while chasing and his 118 put India on the victory path.

A solid 71 by Suresh Raina applied the finishing touches as the hosts wrapped up the match by 5 wickets.

India vs West Indies, Dec 2, 2011

Kohli's century took India to victory

Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja were good with the ball as they restricted a powerful Windies batting lineup to a manageable score of 269 runs in 50 overs.

Once again, India were jolted early as Parthiv Patel was sent back for a mere two runs, but then Virat Kohli walked in and scored a century as India eased to a 5 wicket win. Kohli was supported ably by Rohit Sharma who remained unbeaten on 90.

India took a 2-0 lead in the 5-match series.

India vs West Indies, Nov 24, 2013

Sammy was at his powerful best

India took on West Indies once again in 2013 in the second match of a 5-match series.

West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo called correctly at the toss and asked India to bat first.

India did not start very brightly as they lost Rohit Sharma for a mere 12. Dhawan followed shortly for 35.

Virat Kohli looked to be in fine touch but he fell short of his century by a single run. A late flourish by MS Dhoni (51) pushed India to 288 in their 50 overs.

West Indies responded in fine fashion as four of their batsmen scored more than 50 runs and the innings played by Darren Sammy (63 runs in 45 balls) was the differentiating factor between the teams.

West Indies won the match by two wickets with only three balls remaining.

India vs New Zealand, Oct 29, 2016

Watch: Amit Mishra spin a web around the Kiwis

This was the last match India played under the captaincy of MS Dhoni and they won it in style by 190 runs.

India batted first after winning the toss and regular contributions from almost all the batsmen ensured that they got to 269 in their 50 overs.

This was just about par for the course, but then New Zealand floundered big time as they were tied up in knots by the Indian spinners Amit Mishra, Axar Patel, and Jayant Yadav.

Mishra was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up a five-wicket haul and the Kiwis were bundled out for a mere 79 in 23.1 overs. He was not only the Man of the Match but also the Player of the Tournament.

India won the 5-match series 3-2.