Sri Lanka v India, ODI series 2017 – Statistical Preview

Less than a week after featuring in one of the most one-sided contests ever, India and Sri Lanka are set to clash in the 5-match ODI series. Unlike, the Test series, the ODIs will be crucial for either side who are keen on improving their limited-overs credentials especially Sri Lanka, who need to win at least two games in this series for gaining a direct qualification to the upcoming ICC World Cup in 2019 to be hosted in England.

Here we look at key stats and numbers ahead of the Sri Lanka-India ODI series.

14.78 – Rohit Sharma’s batting average of 14.78 in ODIs in Sri Lanka is the lowest for any specialist batsman. (Min: 20 innings) Overall, his average is the 5th worst for any player and the worst among visiting players in ODIs in Sri Lanka. Rohit has scored 281 runs in 21 innings with the best of 69, his lone fifty on Sri Lankan soil. He bagged five out of 11 ducks in his ODI career in Sri Lanka.

29.61 – Upul Tharanga’s batting average against India in ODIs; the lowest among the 20 players with 1000+ runs in India-Sri Lanka ODIs. Tharanga scored 1007 runs in 37 innings with two centuries and five fifties.

35.56 – Virat Kohli’s batting average of 35.56 in ODIs in Sri Lanka is his lowest in any country. Sri Lanka is the only country where Kohli doesn’t average over 40 in ODIs. He scored 569 runs in 18 ODI innings in Sri Lanka with two centuries and a fifty.

44.91 – MS Dhoni’s batting average of 44.91 in ODIs in Sri Lanka is the 2nd best for any player and the best for any visiting player. (Min: 1000 runs) Arjuna Ranatunga has an average of 46.53 in ODIs in Sri Lanka. Dhoni aggregated 1078 runs in 31 ODI innings in Sri Lanka with nine fifties.

69.44 – Shikhar Dhawan’s batting average against Sri Lanka in ODIs is his best average against any team. (Min: Two innings) His average is the highest for any player in the India-Sri Lanka ODIs with more than 500 runs. Dhawan has scored 625 runs against them in just nine innings which include four fifties and two centuries.

72.97 – India’s win percentage in the bilateral ODI matches against Sri Lanka since 2005. Both the teams faced each other in 37 ODIs in bilateral series since 2005 with India winning 27 and losing only seven matches.

1997 – Sri Lanka last won a bilateral ODI series against India back in 1997 at home. After that series, they lost seven out of 9 bilateral ODI series played against India.

2149 – Runs MS Dhoni has scored thus far against Sri Lanka in ODIs; the only team against which he has scored over 2000 runs. He and Virat Kohli (1849) are the highest run-scores in the India-Sri Lanka ODIs among the current players.