India's best individual ODI performances against Sri Lanka

Yet another India-Sri Lanka ODI series gets underway on November 1. Over the past decade or so, fans have become used to seeing India play Sri Lanka at home, abroad and on neutral grounds extremely often. In fact, India have played Sri Lanka regularly since about 1996. 

Naturally, there have been some stellar performances by Indians. Here we take a look at some such performances:

1) Sachin Tendulkar: 137 at Delhi (1996 World Cup): How many great innings has Sachin Tendulkar played in matches that India ended up losing? This classic 137 off 137 balls was one such fine example, and it came at a time when Tendulkar was at the peak of his batting prowess. India ended with 271/3 off 50 overs, but a horrid, career-ending spell from Manoj Prabhakar and some early pyrotechnics from Sanath Jayasuriya meant Sri Lanka won the game.

2) Mohd Azharuddin 111*, Ajay Jadeja 119 at Colombo (1997): Set a mighty target of 303, India crumbled to 64/4 off nearly 17 overs. With Tendulkar back in the pavilion, it was left to Azharuddin and Jadeja to salvage the match. The two nearly took India to victory, putting up a 223-run stand with both scoring centuries. Then Jadeja fell, and keeper Nayan Mongia followed. 9 runs were needed off the last over, but Azharuddin could score just six, giving Sri Lanka the win by 2 runs. But this was unquestionably one of the greatest counterattacks by an Indian ODI side of the 90s.

3) Sachin Tendulkar 128, Sourav Ganguly 109, Singer-Akai Nidahas Trophy Final (1998): India were doing well as an ODI side in 1998, and much of it can be attributed to the stellar form of Sachin Tendulkar. But India had also discovered a very fine opening partner for Sachin in the form of Sourav Ganguly. In the final of this particular series which also featured New Zealand, the opening combination slammed a record 252 runs before Tendulkar fell for 128. Though Ganguly followed soon after at 109, India managed to reach 307. The partnership was a game-changer: India won by just 6 runs in the end.

4) Sourav Ganguly 183, Taunton (1999 World Cup): India's 1999 World Cup campaign was disappointing, with the team crashing out in the league stages. But someone had to leave a lasting mark, and Sourav Ganguly did. On a placid wicket in Taunton, he went on a rampage against the Sri Lankan bowlers, smashing 183 off 158 balls. Rahul Dravid (145), who would be India's highest scorer in that tournament, also joined in the fun. India posted 373, their highest ODI score back then, and beat Sri Lanka by a mammoth 157 runs.

5) MS Dhoni 183*, Jaipur (2005): This was MS Dhoni's first great performance, and it remains to this day his highest ODI score. It is also the highest score by a wicketkeeper in ODIs. With India chasing a formidable 298, Dhoni came in at No 3, and pillaged the Sri Lankan bowling for an unbeaten 183 off 145 balls. He was in such devastating form that he far outscored all his batting partners, including Virender Sehwag. India won by 6 wickets with 23 balls to spare.

6) Ajit Agarkar 5/44, Pune (2005): A five wicket haul is always special, but it's far more special when the opposition scores 261. Ajit Agarkar, ever the enigma, ripped through the Sri Lankan batting in Pune in the 4th ODI of a 7-match ODI series. After taking out the openers Jayasuriya and Sangakkara, Agarkar returned towards the end of the innings to take out Farvez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas and Muralitharan, finishing at 5/44. India chased down the target with 26 balls to spare, taking an unassailable 4-0 lead in the series.

7) Ashish Nehra 6/59, Indian Oil Cup final (2005): This was an incredible match. India had earned a dubious reputation for underperforming in finals. This series, which also featured West Indies, saw India and Sri Lanka clash in the final at Colombo. Sri Lanka piled up 281/9 off 50 overs after a poor start - but not before Ashish Nehra had taken 6/59, including four top-order wickets. Then, India went from 102/1 and 186/2 to 263 all out, though a certain Virender Sehwag smashed 48 off 22 balls along the way, including 26 off an over from Maharoof.

8) Gautam Gambhir 150, Colombo (2009): On a flat wicket in Colombo, Gautam Gambhir smashed a huge century - 150 - to take India to 332/5 off 50 overs. Accurate bowling from Praveen Kumar and 3 wickets from Irfan Pathan then ensured that India won by 67 runs and clinched the 5-match series 4-0. 

9) Sachin Tendulkar 138, Harbhajan Singh 5/56, Compaq Cup Final (2009): In a short tri-series also featuring New Zealand, the stage was set for yet another India-Sri Lanka final. Sachin Tendulkar, often reviled for his lack of significant performances in ODI finals in the 21st century, smashed 138 off 133 balls to take India to 319. Harbhajan Singh then took 5/56 to ensure that Sri Lanka were bowled out for 273 in 46.4 overs, giving India a 46-run win.

10) Virender Sehwag 146, Rajkot (2009): India played Sri Lanka a lot in 2008 and 2009. This was the third ODI series between the two teams in the space of a year. But Virender Sehwag was not bored by the predicament. On a very flat wicket, he scored a scintillating 146 off just 102 balls. India reached 414 and appeared headed for a win, however, Tillakeratne Dilshan then gave them a mighty scare by pillaging 160. In the end, India scratched home by 3 runs, putting the importance of Sehwag's knock in context.

11) Gautam Gambhir 97, MS Dhoni 91*, 2011 World Cup Final, Mumbai: The 2011 World Cup was India's ultimate triumph at home, and a World Cup victory after 28 years. India had beaten Australia and Pakistan to reach the finals, but Sri Lanka put up a reasonable score of 274/6 from their 50 overs. After losing Virender Sehwag for 0 in the first over and a fluent-but-nervous Tendulkar for 18 in the 7th, India were struggling at 31/2. However, Gautam Gambhir, coming in at No 3, played a calm hand of 97 off 122 balls. He partnered Virat Kohli (35) and then MS Dhoni (91*) along the way. Off the 2nd ball of the 42nd over though, Gambhir was tragically out, playing on to his stumps. 

MS Dhoni though, was not going to let Sri Lanka grab victory from the jaws of defeat. He continued on, and eventually ended the game with a famous sixer, setting off wild celebrations in India.