Top 5 innings played by Sri Lankans in India

Sri Lanka’s tour of India begins on 16th November and the first Test will be hosted at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Over the past couple of months, both teams have had contrasting fortunes in international cricket. While India have rolled over oppositions with ease, Sri Lanka have struggled to find their feet.

However, going into the Test series, Sri Lanka can take heart from the fact that they were able to whitewash Pakistan in their Test series in September. Nevertheless, Sri Lankan batsmen have also played some useful knocks in India, some of them being match-winning ones.

In the slideshow, we take a look at five of the best knocks by Sri Lankan batsmen in India.

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#5 Mahela Jayawardene- 103 runs in 88 balls, Mumbai, 2011

The final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup in the sub-continent was staged at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After some riveting cricket, it was India who clinched the title. However, from Sri Lanka’s perspective, Mahela Jayawardene played a stupendous hand of 103 in just 88 balls.

A vibrant Indian team and a boisterous audience could easily have gotten under the skins of Jayawardene. However, the Sri Lankan batsman kept his cool and milked the Indian bowling with ease. Meanwhile, he also found the boundaries to maintain the pressure on the Indian bowlers.

He batted till the very end and ensured that Sri Lanka were able to post a competitive total for India to chase on a decent batting wicket.

#4 Kumar Sangakkara- 78 runs in 37 balls, Nagpur, 2009

Kumar Sangakkara's blistering knock guided Lanka to a mammoth score

Kumar Sangakkara is renowned for playing the sheet anchor’s role in a batting lineup. Rarely does he go for extravagant strokes, which manifests his calmness as a cricketer. Nevertheless, the Sri Lankan also has the ability to change gears and find the boundaries when required.

With an innings of 78 runs off 37 balls, he played an outstanding knock and guided Sri Lanka to a mammoth total of 215 runs in 20 overs in Nagpur. From Ashok Dinda to Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma and others, he was severe on every Indian bowler.

He went downtown, played the sweep shot to good effect and also nailed a reverse-sweep of Pathan’s bowling. The target turned out to be a bit too much for the Indians as Sri Lanka handsomely emerged victorious by 30 runs.

#3 Tillakaratne Dilshan- 123 runs in 113 balls, Nagpur, 2009

Sri Lanka emerged victorious on the back of the stupendous ton in Nagpur

Tillakaratne Dilshan was an aggressive batsman who liked to score runs freely and take on the opposition bowlers. Apart from his prowess with the willow, the Sri Lankan also had a composed head on his shoulders.

He displayed it with a knock of 123 runs in 113 balls against India. The innings helped Lanka trace down a mammoth target of 302 runs set by India in 50 overs. With 12 boundaries and 2 sixes, Dilshan never allowed the required run-rate to gallop.

During his knock, he also stitched together a couple of healthy partnerships with Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene. He was eventually dismissed by Ashish Nehra in the 36th over, but he had already set the platform by then for a stupendous run-chase.

#2 Mahela Jayawardene- 275 runs in 435 balls, Ahmedabad, 2009

Mahela Jayawardene's double ton helped Sri Lanka post a big first-innings total

Mahela Jayawardene was one of Sri Lanka’s most stylish and skilled cricketers to have played the game. He was someone who knew the art of scoring runs by taking minimum risks. The attribute made him a difficult batsman to bowl to.

He manifested his skills by playing a scintillating knock of 275 runs in the first Test against India in 2009. On a batting paradise, Jayawardene hardly looked out of sorts and staved off the likes of Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh without much fuss.

The knock helped Sri Lanka post a massive first-innings total of 760/7 dec, replying to India’s total of 426 runs. After eight years, the knock is still recorded as the highest individual score by a Sri Lankan batsman in Tests in India.

#1 Tillakaratne Dilshan- 160 runs in 124 balls, Rajkot, 2009

Dilshan's brilliant knock couldn't take Sri Lanka past the finishing line

In the first ODI of Sri Lanka’s tour of India, Virender Sehwag’s whirlwind knock of 146 off 102 balls helped India post a humungous total of 415 in 50 overs. However, during Sri Lanka's run chase, Tillakaratne Dilshan took the Indian bowlers to the cleaners and guided his team to the threshold of victory.

He raced away to 160 runs in 124 balls, which included 20 boundaries and 3 colossal hits into the stands. He perished with Sri Lanka still requiring 76 runs from 66 balls. Harbhajan Singh castled Dilshan with a ball that went through his bat and pad.

After Dilshan’s astounding knock, Sri Lanka lost quite a few wickets and stumbled at the finishing line. The Lankans, eventually, lost the game by 4 runs, despite the batting masterclass by the opening batsman.