India vs Sri Lanka in cricket is indeed a battle that captures the global imagination. The games in ODIs, Tests and T20Is have been worth watching.
The article has everything featured about all the crucial timeline related to these two top cricketing nations, pointing out key battle matches, H2H and other records.
Having great cricketers on both sides, the India vs Sri Lanka timeline is out of this world, covering all key contest moments and rivalries.
India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline
In cricket, India’s rivalry with Sri Lanka has been seen with a great deal of respect. Since the late 1970s, there have been several top cricket stars who have created a lot of moments to remember. Hence, it makes the India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline worth remembering right from the very beginning.
Early Days of Rivalry
India and Sri Lanka found love for the game during the British colonisation. It was the time when these two neighbouring nations started to spread all across the street.
On 16 June 1979, India and Sri Lanka met in a one-day international in an ODI encounter.
The match took place in England, who were the hosts of the 1979 ICC Cricket World Cup. Sri Lanka won the match, starting the great battle of cricket between the two Asian nations.
In 1982, Sri Lanka and India had their first bilateral series. It was a three-match ODI show. India outdid Sri Lanka 3-0 to win the series. In the same season, they played their first Test, which ended up as a draw.
1990s: Building Up
In 1983, India won the ICC Cricket World Cup. So it was an overall great advantage. In the bilateral series, both India and Sri Lanka had their moments. But Sri Lanka set things to the next level when they won the 1996 ICC Cricket World Cup, beating India in the semi-finals in Kolkata.
1: Growth of Bilateral series
With the impact of Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lanka set a decent team in all formats of the game, and hence, even bilateral series and other cup competitions became worth talking about for the fans.
2000s: 10 Years of Great Matches
India vs Sri Lanka timeline became tense overall in the 2000s as the quality of both teams went to the next level. It was hard to predict the winner overall.
1: At the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, both teams shared the series as the final washed out due to the bad weather. It is the only ICC title India and (hosts) Sri Lanka share.
2: India got better in T20Is by winning the 2007 edition of the World Cup. They did not face Sri Lanka in that tournament, but winning the title ahead of them was a blow. In 2009, Sri Lanka reached the T20 WC final, but lost to Pakistan.
2010s: Historical Moments
1: In 2011, India and Sri Lanka co-hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup alongside Bangladesh. The final took place in Mumbai between India and Sri Lanka. Under MS Dhoni’s leadership, India chased 275 runs in 48.2 overs and won the final by 6 wickets. And two years later, India won the Champions Trophy in England.
2: However, Sri Lanka took revenge in 2014 as they beat India in the final to win the T20 World Cup. India lost that match by 4 runs, not being able to chase the target of 135 runs.
3: However, after the 2015 CWC, several top Sri Lanka players retired. As a result, the overall growth and impact of SL went down to a massive level. The growth came at the cost that India had a whitewash over Sri Lanka away from home for the first time in Tests.
2020s: Rise
India’s standards have been as good as apple pie in the 2020s too, but Sri Lanka have made a decent comeback.
1: In 2024, Sri Lanka did not allow India to win the limited-overs series. It did show the rise in the quality of the cricketers in the 2000s and early-mid 2010s.
2: In this decade too, India has got better by winning the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. However, Sri Lanka are yet to win an ICC event in 2020s.
India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Head-to-Head: At ICC Events
| Event | Matches | IND Won | SL Won | Draw-Tie-No Result |
| ICC ODI World Cup | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| ICC T20 World Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ICC Champions Trophy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| ICC World Test Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 |
India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team: Overall H2H
| Format | Matches | IND Won | SL Won | Tie/Draw | No Result |
| ODI | 171 | 99 | 59 | 2 | 11 |
| Test | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| T20I | 46 | 22 | 7 | 17 | 0 |
Final Take
The India vs Sri Lanka timeline in cricket has so many amazing moments. Both nations have produced gems in cricket. But the biggest game between the Asian rivals came in 2011. It was the game where India chased a 275-run total and won their second Cricket World Cup.
But then Sri Lanka took revenge in 2014, when they set the 134 runs total in the T20 World Cup final against India, thanks to their amazing bowling for winning the game by four runs.
It is a fact that since the late 2010s, Sri Lanka has seen a great downfall in Test cricket. However, there have been signs of a rise again. It makes the coming series and matches at the ICC events even better for both sides.
FAQs
At the 1979 Cricket World Cup, India and Sri Lanka met for the first time.
India have won seven of 11 matches played at the ODI World Cup against Sri Lanka.
India beat Sri Lanka in the 2011 CWC final by six wickets in New Mumbai.
Sri Lanka hold one ICC Cricket World Cup title, beating Australia in the 1996 final.
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