Do You Know? The Indian and Sri Lankan cricket teams were declared the joint winners of the 2002 Champions Trophy Final. The rivalry between the Indian and Sri Lankan Cricket teams is filled with many historic, intense, and thrilling moments. The teams of Sri Lanka and India have played the maximum number of ODIs against each other in comparison to any other international team pair-up. The India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline sheds light on the crucial encounters between the teams across all the important ICC as well as international matches across all formats.
1979 to 1999: Supremacy of the Indian team
Between the period of 1979-1999, the Sri Lankan and Indian teams have played a total of 82 matches. Out of which, the Indian team has asserted its dominance by winning 41 matches, whereas the Sri Lankan team has won 24 matches, 12 matches ended up being drawn, and 6 matches gave no result. The India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline provides a detailed analysis of the encounters between the teams across two formats – Test matches and ODIs.
- 1979 Prudential World Cup (ODI): The first ever encounter between the teams of India and Sri Lanka was at the 9th match of the 1979 Prudential World Cup played at Old Trafford, Manchester, on 16th June 1979. The Sri Lankan team won the match, and Duleep Mendis was given the Player of the Match award for his brilliant knock of 64 runs off 57 balls.
- 1986-1987 Champions Trophy (ODI): The inaugural match of the 1986-1987 Champions Trophy was played between the teams of Sri Lanka and India at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The Indian team won the match by 7 wickets, with the key performers being Chetan Sharma(3 wickets), Kapil Dev(2 wickets), Roger Binny(2 wickets), Kris Srikkanth(92 runs), Mohammad Azharuddin(50 runs*), and Kapil Dev(34 runs*).
- 1988-1989 Wills Asia Cup (ODI, Final): In the final match of the 1988-89 Wills Asia Cup, the Men in Blue won the toss and elected to bowl first. Batting first, the Lankan Lions set the target of 176 runs with the help of knocks from Duleep Mendis(36 runs) and Athula Samarasekera(26 runs). In the run chase, the Indian team chased the target in 37.1 overs with major contributions from Navjot Sidhu(76 runs) and Dillip Vengsarkar(50 runs*).
- 1990-1991 Asia Cup (ODI, Final): Batting first, the Lankan Lions set the target of 204 runs in the final match of the Eden Gardens, on 4th January 1991, with contributions from Asanka Gurusinha(39 runs) and Arjuna Ranatunga(49 runs). In reply, the Indian team was able to chase the target in 42.1 overs with crucial knocks from Sanjay Manjrekar(75 runs*), Sachin Tendulkar(53 runs), and Mohammad Azharuddin(54 runs*).
- 1993-1994 India v Sri Lanka (Test): The 3-test match series was played between the teams of Sri Lanka and India, hosted by India. The Indian team whitewashed the series 3-0. The key performers for the Indian team were Navjot Sidhu, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Anil Kumble, Mohammad Azharuddin, Vinod Kambli, Manoj Prabhakar, Kapil Dev, Venkatapathy Raju, and Rajesh Chauhan.
- 1994-1995 Pepsi Asia Cup (ODI, Final): The decider match of the 1994-1995 Pepsi Asia Cup was played between the Indian and Sri Lankan teams at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, on 14th April, 1995. The Men in Blue lifted the trophy by winning the match by 8 wickets, and Mohammad Azharuddin was given the Player of the Match award for his brilliant knock of 90 runs off 89 balls, with the help of 7 boundaries.
- 1997-1998 Pepsi Asia Cup (ODI, Final): The concluding match of the cup was played at the R Premadasa Stadium on 26th July 1997. The Sri Lankan team won the match by 8 wickets. The key performers for the Lankan Lions were Chaminda Vaas(2 wickets), Kumar Dharmasena(2 wickets), Sanath Jayasuriya(63 runs), Marvan Atapattu(84 runs*), and Arjuna Ranatunga(62 runs*).
- 1998-1999 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy (ODI): The 1st and 4th match of the trophy was played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The Men in Blue won both the matches by 3 wickets and 81 runs. The key performers for the Indian team were Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Nayan Mongia, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, and Sunil Joshi.
- 1999 ICC World Cup (ODI): The 21st match of the cup was played at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, on 26th May 1999. The Indian team won the league match by 157 runs, and Sourav Ganguly was given the Player of the Match award for his brilliant knock of 183 runs off 158 balls. Another knock of 145 runs in 129 balls by Rahul Dravid was also commendable.
2000 to 2020: Hegemony of the Indian team
From 2000-2020, Indian and Sri Lankan teams have played a set of 140 matches. Out of which, the Indian team has maintained its dominance by winning 83 matches, and the Sri Lankan team has won 44 matches. Whereas 5 matches ended up being drawn, 1 match ended up being tied, and 7 matches gave no result. The India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline provides a detailed analysis of the encounters between the teams across the three formats – Test matches, ODIs, and T20Is.
- 1999-2000 Asia Cup (ODI): The 3rd match of the cup was played at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka (Dacca), on 1st June 2000. The Sri Lankan team won the match by 71 runs. The Player of the Match award was given to Sanath Jayasuriya for his splendid knock of 105 runs off 116 balls and bowling performance of 39 runs in 9 overs, taking 1 wicket.
- 2000-2001 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy (ODI, Final): The concluding match of the 2001-2001 Champions Trophy was played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium between the teams of Sri Lanka and India. The Lankan Lions won the match by 245 runs and became the champions.
- 2002-2003 ICC World Cup (ODI): The Men in Blue won the match by 183 runs, at the match played at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, on 10th March 2003. The key performers for the Indian team were Sachin Tendulkar(97 runs), Virender Sehwag(66 runs), Sourav Ganguly(48 runs), Ashish Nehra(4 wickets), Javagal Srinath(4 wickets), and Zaheer Khan(2 wickets).
- 2004-2005 Asia Cup (ODI, Final): Batting first, the Lankan Lions set the target of 228 runs with the loss of 9 wickets, with major knocks from Marvan Atapattu(65 runs) and Kumar Sangakkara(53 runs). The Men in Blue were restricted to a total of 203 runs, with the major wicket-taker for the Lankan Lions being Upul Chandana(3 wickets) and Sanath Jayasuriya(2 wickets).
- 2006-2007 ICC World Cup: The 20th match of the 2006-2007 ICC World Cup was played at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on 23rd March 2007. The Lankan Lions won the league match by 69 runs. The key performers for the Sri Lankan team were Upul Tharanga(64 runs), Chamara Silva(59 runs), Muttiah Muralitharan(3 wickets), and Chaminda Vaas(2 wickets).
- 2007-2008 Asia Cup (ODI, Final): The final match of the 2007-2008 Asia Cup was played between the Indian and Sri Lankan teams at the National Stadium, Karachi, on 6th July 2008. The Sri Lankan team won the match by 100 runs and became the champions. The key performers for the Lankan Lions were Sanath Jayasuriya(125 runs), Tillakaratne Dilshan(56 runs), Ajantha Mendis(6 wickets), and Chaminda Vaas(2 wickets).
- 2009-2010 Asia Cup (ODI, Final): Dinesh Karthik was given the Player of the Match award for his brilliant knock of 66 runs in the final match of the 2009-2010 Asia Cup played on 24th June 2010, at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla.
The Men in Blue lifted the trophy by winning the final match by 81 runs.
- 2010-2011 ICC World Cup (ODI, Final): The final match of the cup was played at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on 2nd April 2011. The Indian team lifted another trophy by winning the match by 6 wickets. M S Dhoni was given the Player of the Match for his splendid and crucial batting knock of 91 runs off 79 balls with the help of 10 boundaries.
- 2011-2012 Asia Cup (ODI): Batting first, with the help of crucial knocks from Gautam Gambhir(100 runs) and Virat Kohli(108 runs), the Indian team set the target of 304 runs. In the run chase, the Sri Lankan team was restricted to a total of 254 runs, with the major wicket takers being Irfan Pathan(4 wickets), Vinay Kumar(3 wickets), and Ravichandran Ashwin(3 wickets).
- 2013 ICC Champions Trophy (ODI, 2nd Semi-Final): The 2nd semi-final match of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy was played at the Sophia Gardens between the Indian and Sri Lankan teams. The Indian team won the match by 8 wickets.
- 2013-2014 ICC World Twenty20 (Final): The final match of the T20 cup was played between the teams of Sri Lanka and India at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. The Lankan Lions lifted the cup by clinching the match by 6 wickets. Kumar Sangakkara was given the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten knock of 52 runs off 35 balls.
- 2015-2016 Asia Cup (T20): The Men in Blue won the 7th match of the cup by 5 wickets, played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, on 1st March 2016. Virat Kohli was given the Player of the Match award for his brilliant unbeaten knock of 56 runs off 47 balls, with the help of 7 boundaries.
- 2017 ICC Champions Trophy (ODI): The 8th match of the trophy was played at the Kennington Oval, London, on 8th June 2017. The Lankan Lions won the match by 7 wickets, and Kusal Mendis was given the Player of the Match award for his brilliant knock of 89 runs off 93 balls, with the help of 12 boundaries.
- 2017-2018 Sri Lanka v India (Test): The 3 match series was played between the teams of Sri Lanka and India, hosted by Sri Lanka. The series was whitewashed 3-0. The key performers for the Indian team were Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Shami.
- 2017-2018 Nidahas Twenty20 Tri Series: The 1st and 4th matches of the series were played between the Men in Blue and Lankan Lions at the R Premadasa Stadium. Lankan Lions won the 1st match, whereas the 4th match was won by the Men in Blue. The key performers for the Sri Lankan team were Dushmantha Chameera(2 wickets), Kusal Perera(66 runs), and Thisara Perera(22 runs).
The crucial performers for the Indian team were Washington Sundar(2 wickets), Shardul Thakur(4 wickets), Manish Pandey(42 runs*), and Dinesh Karthik(39 runs).
- 2019 ICC World Cup (ODI): The 44th match of the cup was played on 6th July 2019, at Headingley, Leeds. The Indian team won the match by 7 wickets, and Rohit Sharma was awarded the Player of the Match title for his brilliant knock of 103 runs in 94 balls with the aid of 16 boundaries.
- 2019-2020 India v Sri Lanka (T20): The 3-match series was hosted by India, and the Indian team won the series by 2-0, whereas 1 match ended up giving no result. The key performers for the Men in Blue were Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Washington Sundar, and Jasprit Bumrah.
2021 to 2024: Recent Encounters
The Indian and Sri Lankan teams have played a total of 27 matches. Out of which, the Indian team has won 19 matches, whereas the Sri Lankan team has only managed to clinch 7 matches, and 1 match ended up being tied. The India National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Timeline sheds light on the encounters between the teams across all formats.
- 2021-2022 India v Sri Lanka (Test): The 2-match test series was clinched by the Indian team by winning the 1st match by an innings and 222 runs, and the 2nd match by 238 runs. The key performers for the Indian team were Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, and Jasprit Bumrah.
- 2022-2023 Asia Cup (T20): The 9th match of the cup was played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, on 6th September 2022. Batting first, the Indian team set the target of 173 runs with knocks from Rohit Sharma(72 runs) and Suryakumar Yadav(34 runs). In reply, the Sri Lankan chased the target in 19.5 overs. The Player of the Match award was given to Dasun Shanaka for his unbeaten knock of 33 runs off 18 balls and a bowling spell of 2 wickets.
- 2023 Asia Cup (ODI): The Men in Blue won the 10th match of the cup by 41 runs, played at the R Premadasa Stadium between the teams of Sri Lanka and India. The key performers for the Indian team were Rohit Sharma(53 runs), Kuldeep Yadav(4 wickets), Jasprit Bumrah(2 wickets), and Ravindra Jadeja(2 wickets).
In the final match, both teams met again, and the Indian team once again won the match and lifted the trophy by winning the match by 10 wickets.
- 2023 ICC World Cup (ODI): In the 33rd league match of the 2023 ICC World Cup, the Indian team won the match by 302 runs, played at the Wankhede Stadium. Mohammed Shami was given the Player of the Match award for his brilliant bowling spell of 5 overs, 18 runs, and 5 wickets, with an economy rate of 3.60.
- 2024 Sri Lanka v India (T20): The latest encounter between the two teams was at the 3rd match played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele, Kandy, on 30th July 2024. The Indian team won the match in the super over. The Player of the Match award was given to Washington Sundar for his knock of 25 runs and 2 wickets.
India vs Sri Lanka Head to Head in ODI World Cup
| Tournament | Matches Played | India Won | Sri Lanka Won | Draw/Tie/No Result |
| ODI World Cup | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| T20 World Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Champions Trophy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| World Test Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 15 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
