India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline: The India National Cricket Team has not faced many problems in defeating their neighbours, Sri Lanka. For them, each match with the Lankans has contained a little more than just a battle; they have consistently seen an opportunity to present themselves as being able to play their fearless form of cricket, full of flair. From Sharing 2002 Champions Trophy to the 2011 World Cup Final to the 2014 T20 World Cup Final to the 2023 Asia Cup Final, there have been many contests, series, and events to remember in this rivalry over the years.
However, it is a rivalry engulfed with fierce competitiveness and mutual respect that has consistently spurred them to try and do better. The rivalry runs deep in Sri Lankan cricket and is no less significant to their identity, as they constantly use it to measure themselves and their best expression of talent against one of the best controllers of the game. Players including Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara, and Lasith Malinga have shown high performances on the field, keeping the team’s hopes alive. Here is an overview of the India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline.
India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline – Tests
The competition in Tests between the India National Cricket Team and the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team has been one-sided toward India. India and Sri Lanka have played 46 Test Matches against each other, and the Sri Lanka National cricket team has won against India only 7 times out of 46 matches. Whereas, Team India has won 22 times against them. Unfortunately, 17 matches were drawn.
First Encounter
The first Test match between the India National Cricket Team and the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team was contested on September 17, 1982, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Duleep Mendis, Sunil Gavaskar, and Sandeep Patil were the centurions in this match. Duleep Mendis was the only batter to score centuries in both innings for Sri Lanka. Dilip Doshi, Kapil Dev, and Ashantha De Melo took 5 wickets in the match. The match ultimately ended in a draw.
Recent Encounter
The last time India and Sri Lanka met was on March 12th, 2022, at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. The Indian Cricket Team won by a massive margin of 238 runs. Shreyas Iyer, Angelo Mathews, Rohit Sharma, and Rishab Pant were the batting stars, and Praveen Jayawickrama, Lasith Embuldeniya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravinchandran Ashwin were the bowling stars. Sri Lanka tried their best and did their best to challenge India in this game, but India’s might was too much for Sri Lanka.
First Win On Each Other’s Soil
On 27th July 1993, the Indian National Cricket Team won its first test match on Sri Lankan territory at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground held in Colombo Sri Lanka defeated by a whopping 235 run margin at home against an Indian Side. Arjuna Ranatung, Vinod Kambli, Navjot Sidhu, and Sachin Tendulkar were the centurions from this match, while Anil Kumble picked up a five-wicket haul for the Indian Team. The unfortunate part is that the Sri Lanka National Team has still not won a test match on Indian turf.
| Particulars | Details |
| Total Matches | 47 |
| India Won | 22 |
| Sri Lanka Won | 7 |
| India Lost | 7 |
| Sri Lanka Lost | 22 |
| No Result | 0 |
| Tie | 0 |
| Draw | 17 |
India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline – ODIs
The Rivalry in ODIs between both teams does, however, favor the India National Cricket Team significantly. Both teams have played 171 ODI Matches against each other, where Team India has again taken the lead or control of the victory list with 99 wins out of the 171 matches against the Sri Lankan Side, where Sri Lanka has only been able to come away with the victory in 59 ODIs against the Men in Blue. The Sri Lanka cricket team does have a negative win record against Team India when it comes to ODIs, but they will always have a fond memory as they recall the 2024 ODI series, where Sri Lanka lifted the trophy as series winners 2-0. Both Teams were considered champions of the ICC Champions Trophy 2022 due to heavy rain disturbance.
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First Encounter
The India National Cricket Team and Sri Lanka National Cricket Team played their first ever ODI match at Old Trafford on 16th June, 1979. The Sri Lanka National Cricket team won the first contest in this rivalry by 47 runs. Sunil Wettimuny, Duleep Mendis played a great knock for Sri Lanka, Somachandra De Silva and Antony Opatha took 3 wickets each in the bowling department.
Recent Encounter
The last ODI game between India vs Sri Lanka was on 7th August, 2024 at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. The Sri Lanka National Cricket Team won the ODI match by 110 runs against the India National Cricket Team, and the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team also won the series against the India National Cricket Team by 2-0. Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis made the most of the bat for the Sri Lankan side, and Dunith Wellalage took a 5-wicket haul for the Sri Lanka team, and Riyan Parag took 3 wickets for the men in blue against the Sri Lanka Cricket Team.
First Win On Each Other’s Soil
On August 25, 1985, the Indian National Cricket Team played their first One Day International match against the team from Sri Lanka on Sri Lankan soil at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo. This was a 45-over match, and Team India triumphed by a mere 2-wicket victory over Team Sri Lanka, and Roy Dias, Arjuna Ranatunga, Ravi Shastri, and Dillip Vengsarkar showed their batting ability, whereas Chetan Sharma, Rumesh Ratnayake, and Roger Wijesuriya performed excellently well with the ball in hand.
| Particulars | Details |
| Total Matches | 171 |
| India Won | 99 |
| Sri Lanka Won | 59 |
| India Lost | 59 |
| Sri Lanka Lost | 99 |
| No Result | 11 |
| Tie | 2 |
| Draw | 0 |
India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline – T20Is
The results of the India National Cricket Team vs the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team encounters in T20Is do not favour Sri Lanka, as both teams have met 32 times with Sri Lanka winning 9 of those encounters, whilst the Men in Blue have won 22 matches with only one match having no result, but there is special mention of a victory that the Sri Lanka Cricket Team have on 6th April, 2014, where the Sri Lankan side beat the Indian Side in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2014, but the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team has not managed to win any T20I series against India.
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First Encounter
The T20I series initially took its first battle with the India Cricket Team, winning by 3 wickets on 10 February 2009 at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Tillakaratne Dilshan, Suresh Raina performed well with the bat, while Yusuf Pathan, C Bandara performed well with the ball, grabbing wickets for their teams.
Recent Encounter
In their last encounter, both teams took part in an epic, action-packed contest where the Indian Cricket Team won the game against the Sri Lankan side in a super over. Both teams scored the same runs in the match, which occurred on 30th July, 2024 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele, Kandy. Shubhman Gill and Wanindu Hasaranga did a great job batting, and the bowling unit for Mahesh Theekshana, Rinku Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Washington Sundar, and Ravi Bishnoi performed well.
First Win On Each Other’s Soil
On December 9, 2009, the Sri Lankan Cricket Team achieved their first victory on Indian soil at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur. The Sri Lankan team defeated Team India by 29 runs in this match, where Kumar Sangakkara batted brilliantly, Sanath Jayasuriya was effective with the ball, and Angelo Mathews contributed with the ball that enabled Sri Lanka to beat the Mighty Men in Blue. The India National Cricket Team achieved its first win on Sri Lankan soil on February 10, 2009, at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, where the Indian team won against the Sri Lankan team by 3 wickets. This match also marked the first T20I match in which both teams played, where the Pathan Brothers starred in the lower order for India to win the match.
| Particulars | Details |
| Total Matches | 32 |
| India Won | 22 |
| Sri Lanka Won | 9 |
| India Lost | 9 |
| Sri Lanka Lost | 22 |
| No Result | 1 |
| Tie | 0 |
| Draw | 0 |
Conclusion
The India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline is clearly defined by the dominance of Men in Blue in all 3 formats of the game. Both teams have some special wins on the grand stage against each other that the Sri Lankan side will try to build off for maximum wins in their next contest, while trying to build the trips to India in September of 2025 for the Coming T20 Asia Cup. The Men in Blue will be looking to ensure that their dominance against the Sri Lankan side will continue in all 3 formats. India and Sri Lanka are also the co-hosts for the Upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, where the Indian Team will be looking to defend their title, while the Sri Lankan side will try to catch the Ultimate Glory.
