da bet nacional： A stats preview to the Sri Lanka India Test series.
da betsul： Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan17-Jul-2010India and Sri Lanka have played each other with monotonous regularity over the last few years especially in the one day format. In Tests, however, the contests have been pretty interesting. India will be seeking their first series win in Sri Lanka since 1993, while Sri Lanka will look to reassert their dominance. On their two previous visits in 2001 and 2008, India won the second Test of the series but were convincingly beaten in the first and third. Contests between these two teams often favour the home team as is seen in the tables below. India have clearly been the dominant team in matches played at home, while they have quite clearly finished second-best in away games.
Host nationMatches playedMatches won by IndiaMatches won by Sri Lanka Matches drawnIndia171007Sri Lanka15357
Host nationMatches playedMatches won by IndiaMatches won by Sri LankaMatches drawnIndia6402Sri Lanka6240The last two series played between the teams were lit up by two double centuries by Virender Sehwag. His effort at Galle was remarkable considering the little support he received. The rest of the Indian batting was a failure, falling to Ajantha Mendis. The table below summarises the top batsmen against Sri Lanka in the 2000s. Rahul Dravid had an excellent series in 2001, but was well below par in the last series in 2008. The form of the openers, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, will be key for India, while the middle-order will want to make amends after a forgettable outing in 2008.
PlayerMatchesInningsRunsAverage100s50sRahul Dravid111992551.3825Virender Sehwag81389174.2532Gautam Gambhir81464646.1423VVS. Laxman91558545.0016Sachin Tendulkar91548134.3521
PlayerMatchesInningsRunsAverage100s50sRahul Dravid61238334.8103Virender Sehwag3634468.8011Gautam Gambhir3631051.6603VVS. Laxman3621543.0002Sachin Tendulkar369515.8300Sri Lankan batsmen have turned in excellent performances against India in the 2000s, mostly in the home games. Mahela Jayawardene has scored over 1000 runs in the 2000s with four centuries. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera were prolific in the 2008 series and their form will be vital to Sri Lanka’s fortunes.
PlayerMatchesInningsRunsAverage100s50sMahela Jayawardene1219120366.8346Kumar Sangakkara 121979043.8831Tillakaratne Dilshan91460450.3332Thilan Samaraweera 101553949.0023Prasanna Jayawardene 6940450.5010
PlayerMatchesInningsRunsAverage100s50sMahela Jayawardene6957571.8732Kumar Sangakkara 6942553.1221Thilan Samaraweera/td>45346115.3321Tillakaratne Dilshan3418662.0010Prasanna Jayawardene 3410726.7500India go into the Test series with a significantly weakened bowling attack after the departure of Zaheer Khan, who has been the second-highest wicket taker against Sri Lanka in the 2000s after Harbhajan Singh. Apart from Harbhajan, who boasts a good record both home and away against Sri Lanka, the inexperienced bowlers will have their task cut out against a formidable Sri Lankan batting line-up. The performance of Indian bowlers against Sri Lanka in Tests this decade is summarised below.
PlayerMatchesWickets takenAverage5WI10WMHarbhajan Singh124733.7622Pragyan Ojha2928.6600Ishant Sharma4843.5000
PlayerMatchesWickets takenAverage5WI10WMHarbhajan Singh62037.1011Ishant Sharma3635.5000Muttiah Muralitharan’s impending retirement has been the talking point all around, and with good reason. He has undoubtedly been the best bowler from either side and has been a terrific matchwinner in home games. If he does go on to achieve the landmark of 800 wickets in his final Test, it could well be a winning performance. Ajantha Mendis was the star in 2008, picking up 26 wickets, and could be picked in the team after Muralitharan’s retirement. Rangana Herath and the inexperienced Chanaka Welegedara could have their hands full against the powerful Indian batting.
PlayerMatchesWicketsAverage5WI10WMMuttiah Muralitharan126928.9552Ajantha Mendis42822.8521Dilhara Fernando51143.6310Rangana Herath31148.8110Chanaka Welegedara3666.1600
PlayerMatchesWicketsAverage5WI10WMMuttiah Muralitharan64420.7042Ajantha Mendis32618.3821Dilhara Fernando3933.7710Much of the reason for Sri Lanka’s success, especially in home games, has been the performance of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Their partnerships this decade, which includes the record 624-run stand against South Africa, have been extremely productive. Against India, however, the record reads quite differently. An average of just 17 in home games and 19 in away games is well below their overall record and is something they would look to better in the forthcoming series.
OppositionInningsTotal Partnership runsHighest partnershipAverage100s50sIndia (in Sri Lanka)3514017.0000India (in India)61145719.0001All other teams66444062470.471119On the other hand, Gambhir and Sehwag have been exceptional in all conditions over the last few years and boast a great record in Sri Lanka. The opening pair, in just 50 Tests, is ranked among the most successful opening pairs of all time. They topped the batting averages when India last toured Sri Lanka, and much of India’s chances will depend on the starts they produce.
OppositionInningsTotal Partnership runsHighest partnershipAverage100s50sSri Lanka (in Sri Lanka)643116771.8313Sri Lanka (in India)637223362.0011All other teams31170121856.7049The table below summarises the overall batting and bowling performances of India and Sri Lanka in head-to-head contests in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka have bossed the contests, averaging much higher and also scoring 12 centuries to India’s one. On the bowling front too, Sri Lanka’s average is far better than India’s, and the visitors’ inexperienced bowling line-up will have its task cut out.
TeamMatchesRuns scoredBatting average100s50sWickets takenBowling average5WI10WMIndia6268324.171137340.1231Sri Lanka6285938.6312710626.2573Galle has been a pretty good venue for the home team, with seven wins and three defeats since 2000. There were no matches there for three years following the tsunami in 2004, but as the table below shows, Sri Lanka’s record in the last three years there has been almost as dominant as in the period between 2000 and 2004.
TeamMatchesRuns scoredBatting average100s50sWickets takenBowling average5WI10WMSri Lanka (before 2005)9461136.88112215328.46114Other teams (before 2005)9421427.01111411839.7241Sri Lanka (after 2005)4205433.12486826.6411Other teams (after 2005)4175823.13366034.7011