IND v SL, 2017: Sri Lanka chases history at the Eden Gardens after electing bowl

It is not often that we get to see teams electing to bowl first in India or even the Asian conditions with the fears of batting last which certainly makes the life difficult for the batsmen even with the shortest of targets. However, the Sri Lankans took the decision to field first in the 1st Test match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The greenish surface and the overcast condition played a major role in their decision and to prove the skipper right Sri Lankan pacer Suranga Lakmal recorded figures of 6-6-0-3 in the helpful conditions to reduce India to 17/3 in the 11.5 overs of play that was possible.

In the 41 Test matches at the Eden Gardens, the team winning the toss decided to bowl only on six occasions. The last such occasion was 15 Tests ago and it was Pakistan who bowled first at India in 1987. However, from the previous five occasions, when a team elected to bowl first won only once and lost once while the remaining three contests ended in a draw.

Team India, who elected to bowl in 1956 against Australia, ended up losing the game by 94 runs. Later in 1969, Australia chose to bowl first and defeated the home side by 10 wickets.

Teams that elected to bowl first in a Test match at the Eden Gardens:

In the 262 Test matches played on Indian soil, the teams winning the toss selected to bowl first only on 21 occasions. However, in the last 55 Test matches played in India since 2007, the toss winning side elected to bat only twice. Before Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, the last visiting side to put India into bat were the Australians in 2001 in Mumbai where they ended up winning the Test by ten wickets. Out of the 127 Tests where the visiting side won the toss in India, only on eight occasions, they elected to bowl first.

However, except Australia’s 10-wicket wins in Kolkata and Mumbai, the remaining six Tests ended up without a result. Sri Lanka will need to capitalize on the start they got and make sure they register their maiden Test win on Indian soil with the weather permitting.

Visiting teams that put India into bat after winning the toss:

(Stats as on November 16, 2017)