Not very long ago (September), India completed something very unique in Sri Lanka – something cricket experts termed a ‘tourwash’, as India won every match on that tour, becoming the first team ever to go abroad and win every game on a 9-match tour.
A couple of months later, Sri Lanka are now back to play India, this time in India. After losing so badly at home, how well do you think they will fare on this tour? Former Sri Lankan spin legend Muralitharan himself says that Sri Lanka’s chances are ‘slim’ on this tour.
Preview
Starting 16th November until 24th December 2017, Sri Lanka will play 3 Tests, 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is across various venues in India. While Sri Lanka cricket is going through tough times, India are on a roll especially at home, having not lost a test series in India since 2012.
Sri Lanka are coming off an unsuccessful tour of UAE and Pakistan, while India are coming off a good time at home, beating New Zealand in both ODI and T20 series: 2-1 each time. However, the visitors didn’t seem to do too bad, having scored 411/9 and drawing the 2-day warm up match in Kolkata.
Squads
The test squads have been announced while the squads for the shorter formats will be out soon. For India, big news came in with Hardik Pandya being rested for the test series, as they don’t want to take a chance of any injuries, given the fact that he has been a regular part of the team across all formats.
- Indian Test squad (first 2 tests): Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay, Umesh Yadav.
- Sri Lankan Test squad: Dinesh Chandimal (c), Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Angelo Mathews, Roshen Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Lahiru Thirimanne.
Sri Lanka made headline with the news of having dropped Kusal Mendis for this tour. Probably brought on to the scene at a very young age, I still believe that Kusal is undoubtedly their best batsman in the squad. A little bit of rest will give him time to work on his game!
Fixtures & Venues
- 1st Test – Eden Gardens, Kolkata – 16th November 2017
- 2nd Test – VCA Stadium, Nagpur – 24th November 2017
- 3rd Test – Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi – 2nd December 2017
- 1st ODI – HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala – 10th December 2017
- 2nd ODI – PCA Stadium, Mohali – 13th December 2017
- 3rd ODI – Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium, Visakhapatnam – 17th December 2017
- 1st T20I – Barabati Stadium, Cuttack – 20th December 2017
- 2nd T20I – Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore – 22nd December 2017
- 3rd T20I – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai – 24th December 2017
I’m expecting a very one-sided contest between these two teams over the next month and a half. Don’t forget to leave your comments and let us know what you feel.
Read similar content in our Cricket Scoops section!
