Top 5 run-getters in India-Sri Lanka Test encounters

Chasing an elusive dream of winning their first Test match in India, Dinesh Chandimal's men will begin their three-match Test series against Virat Kohli & Co, starting 16th November at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

India, the number one Test team in the world, will go into the home series as favourites.

Riding on a phenomenal momentum from back to back Test series victories in the West Indies and Sri Lanka, India would want to extend the unbeaten record against their neighbours at home.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka who will play their first Test in India in last eight years, have a forgettable record in the country.

The cricket team from the Island Nation are yet to win from their 16 Test appearances in India and have suffered 10 defeats in the record spanning 1982-2017.

Despite the lopsided win-loss ratio, India-Sri Lanka encounters have predominantly been high-scoring.

The Test series between the two neighbours produced some memorable knocks and witnessed a number of batting records being created and shattered.

So, let's have a look at the top 5 run-getters in India-Sri Lanka Test encounters.

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Aravinda de Silva

With 1252 runs in 19 Tests against India at an average of 41.73, Aravinda de Silva takes the fifth spot on the list of top-scorers in the India-Sri Lanka encounters.

The aggressive middle-order batsman was given the nickname 'Mad Max' because of his ability to dismantle bowlers. Blessed with brilliant stroke play, De Silva was capable of doing the impossible.

The Sri Lankan legend's start against India was quite unassuming. De Silva played his first Test against India in 1985 but his first hundred came in 1993 when he scored 146, his highest score against his favourite opposition, in Colombo.

During the 1997 Test series against Sachin Tendulkar & Co, De Silva took the Test batting to a whole new level as he scored three centuries at home and smashed an unbeaten 110 at Mohali in the return series.

Kumar Sangakkara

With 1352 runs in 17 Tests at an average of 52.00, including five centuries and two fifties, Kumar Sangakkara takes the fourth spot on this list.

The wicket-keeper batsman, who recently bid farewell to the world of cricket after three astounding seasons for English County side Surrey, was known to be graceful, yet destructive.

Sangakkara, who made his Test debut in the year 2000 against South Africa, scored a ton in his first match against India, the following year.

Considered to be one of the most stylish batsmen in the history of cricket, Sangakkara's highest score against India came at Colombo in 2010, when scored 219 out of Sri Lanka's total of 642.

Known to make the opposition's bowlers work like Trojans, Sangakkara was one of the most dependable batsmen in Sri Lanka's arsenal for over a decade.

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid scored 1508 runs in 20 Tests, including three tons and nine fifties against Sri Lanka to take the third spot on the list.

Known as 'The Wall', Dravid made huge strides at number three in India's formidable Test batting line-up.

Being technically sound, the Karnataka batsman was a cornerstone of India's envious top-four that also boasted of names like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.

Dravid's best show against the Island Nation came in the 2009 home series when he scored hundreds in consecutive Tests.

After registering his highest Test score of 177 against Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad, Dravid got 144 at Kanpur.

His Test average of 48.64 was rather low as compared to his exploits against other oppositions but Sri Lanka were quite wary of Dravid's batting aptitude.

Mahela Jayawardene

With 1822 runs in 18 Tests at a startling average of 67.48, Mahela Jayawardene takes the second spot on the list.

When Jayawardene set about in his career, names like Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya were ruling the roost in Sri Lankan cricket.

With his grit and determination, Jayawardene carved a niche for himself and went on to become one of the most successful batsmen to hail from the Island Nation.'

Jayawardene retired from the longest format of the game as the eighth highest run-getter in a career spanning 17 years.

Out of Jayawardene's 34 Test hundreds, six have come against India.

His highest Test score of 275 against his most-preferred opponents came in 2009 at Ahmedabad.

However, it was not Jayawardene's first double-hundred against the Men in Blue. In 1999, the former Sri Lanka skipper had scored 242 at Colombo.

Sachin Tendulkar

South Africa v India 1st Test - Day 4

It should not come as a surprise that the Master Blaster, who tops most cricket list in the world, rules this one too.

In a career spanning over two decades, Tendulkar featured in a record 25 of the 38 Tests played between India and Sri Lanka.

Tendulkar, who scored 1995 runs at an average of 60.45 against Sri Lanka, hit a hundred in his second Test against the neighbours at Colombo in 1993.

It was followed by another hundred at Lucknow in the return series of 1994.

Tendulkar scored consecutive tons in 1997 at Colombo and yet another in Mumbai later that year.

However, between 2005 and 2009, the top-scorer in the history of Test cricket, weathered a dry spell against Sri Lanka and bounced back with a score of 100 not out at Ahmedabad.

In 2010, Tendulkar got his highest Test score against Sri Lanka at Colombo, when he scored the fifth of his six double-centuries in five-day cricket.