Top 5 wicket-takers in India-Sri Lanka Test encounters

Virat Kohli and Co. will host Dinesh Chandimal's men as India and Sri Lanka engage in a three-match Test series, starting 16th November at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

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

Sri Lanka, who are yet to win a Test match in India, suffered a 3-0 whitewash at home when the Men in Blue toured the Island Nation in August this year.

As far as the history of Test cricket between the two countries is concerned, the familiar foes have faced each other 41 times in five-day affairs.

India managed to win on 19 occasions, Sri Lanka won seven, while 15 matches ended in a draw.

Although India-Sri Lanka encounters have predominantly been high-scoring, some bowlers produced scintillating spells when two Asian cricketing superpowers locked horns in the longest format of the game.

Let us now go down the memory lane and have a look at the top five wicket-takers of the India-Sri Lanka encounters in Tests over the years.

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Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin, who was pivotal as India whitewashed Sri Lanka 3-0 in the Test series played in August this year, displaced Ajantha Mendis to take the fifth spot on this list.

The premier off-spinner's 17 scalps helped India complete their first-ever clean sweep over Sri Lanka in a Test series away from home.

Ashwin claimed the 26th five-wicket haul of his Test career and surpassed Harbhajan Singh to become the Indian with second highest number of five-fors after Anil Kumble, who has 35.

Between 2015 and 2017, Ashwin played six Tests against Sri Lanka and claimed 38 wickets, giving away 820 runs.

Sri Lanka, who are yet to win a Test in India are quite wary of Ashwin's variations in length ahead of the upcoming series.

The visitors' opener Dimuth Karunaratne believes that playing India's two leading spinners - Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja well - will determine Sri Lanka's chances of winning their maiden Test on Indian soil.

Kapil Dev

Sri Lanka can easily be considered Kapil Dev's most memorable opposition, as Hashan Tillakaratne became his 432nd victim in a 1994 Test, moving the Haryana Hurricane beyond Richard Hadlee’s world record.

The incredible all-rounder's historic feat was celebrated with the release of 432 balloons in Ahmedabad and a minute’s standing ovation.

Between 1982 and 1994, Dev played 14 Tests against Sri Lanka and claimed 45 wickets to take the fourth spot on this list.

Although he never claimed a ten-wicket haul in Tests, one of Dev's 12 five-fors came against the Island Nation at Chennai on September 17, 1982.

Before retiring in 1994, with 5248 runs and 434 wickets, Kapil Dev became the only player to score 4000 runs and take 400 wickets in five-day cricket.

Harbhajan Singh

Before Ravichandran Ashwin entered the fray 2011, it was Harbhajan Singh, who carried forward the legacy of India's spin bowling.

Once an integral part of India’s bowling arsenal, between 1999 and 2015, Harbhajan claimed 53 wickets in 16 Test matches against Sri Lanka.

Fiercely competitive and exceptionally skilled, Harbhajan claimed two 10-wicket hauls, and as many five-wicket hauls against Sri Lanka.

The Turbanator's best performance against the Island Nation came in 2005 at Ahmedabad when he recorded match figures of 10/141, claiming 7/62 in the first innings.

India won the three-match Test series 2-0.

Unfortunately, Harbhajan was dropped from India's Test squad after his dismal performance at Galle in 2015.

He ended with the match figures of 1/90 and the visitors lost the match. Consequently, Harbhajan did not play any Test for India ever since.

Anil Kumble

As an opposition, Sri Lanka will always be close to India's spin wizard Anil Kumble's heart, since he created a number of records against them.

Between 1993 and 2008, India’s leading wicket-taker in Tests, played 18 matches against Sri Lanka and claimed 74 wickets to take the second place on this list.

The man who has two 10-wicket and four five-wicket hauls under his belt, claimed 10 wickets in a match for the first time in January 1994 against Sri Lanka at Lucknow.

In December 2005, Kumble took his eighth 10-wicket haul and led India to a 188-run victory against Sri Lanka in Delhi.

When Kumble decided to hang his boots in November 2008, he was the third-highest wicket-taker behind Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan with 619 wickets from 132 Test.

Muttiah Muralitharan

No prizes for guessing that the world's leading Test wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan, sits atop this list as well.

Between 1993 and 2010, Muralitharan played 22 matches against India and claimed 105 wickets, including two 10-wicket and seven five-wicket hauls.

Muralitharan went into the final Test of his career, needing eight Indian wickets to touch the magical 800-wicket mark.

The 38-year-old Sri Lankan spin legend scripted history when he took 5/63 in the first innings followed by 3/128 in the second to enter a territory that no other cricketer had.

The man, who is the first and only one to claim 800 Test wickets, achieved the extraordinary landmark when he dismissed Pragyan Ojha at Galle as Sri Lanka beat India by 10 wickets in the 2010 Test match.