STATS HIGHLIGHTS
Follow UsSri Lanka achieved a major milestone on August 7 (Wednesday) as the Charith Asalanka-led side beat India 2-0 to register a bilateral ODI series win over the Men in Blue for the first time in 27 years.
It's a series that has already gone into the record books — not because of the 'upset' but because just how spin-dominated it turned out to be.
This series saw the spinners take a whopping 43 wickets in three matches. It's the most wickets taken by the tweakers in a three-match ODI series in history. This series was so spin-dominated that it shattered the previous record set by Bangladesh and Pakistan back in 2011.
Most wickets taken by spinners in a three-match ODI series
43 wickets - Sri Lanka vs India, 2024
36 wickets - Bangladesh vs Pakistan, 2011
33 wickets - Sri Lanka vs South Africa, 2021
31 wickets - Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, 1998
30 wickets - Bangladesh vs England, 2023
India themselves ended up setting a personal unwanted record. They lost 27 wickets to spin, the most for them in any ODI series in history.
Most wickets lost by India against spin in an ODI series
27 vs Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, 2024
19 vs Pakistan in Canada, 1996
18 vs Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, 1997
18 vs Pakistan in India, 2005
17 vs Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, 2008
Remarkably, they lost nine wickets to spin on three separate occasions in the series. Prior to this series, India had only lost nine or more wickets to spin in an ODI series twice in their entire history.
Most wickets lost in an innings against spin for India in ODIs
10/128 vs SL, Colombo, 2023 (Asia Cup 2023)
9/154 vs SL, Colombo, 1997 (2nd ODI 1997)
9/109 vs SL, Colombo, 2024 (3rd ODI)
9/169 vs SL, Colombo, 2024 (1st ODI)
9/177 vs SL, Colombo, 2024 (2nd ODI)
8/153 vs SL, Fathullah, 2014 (Asia Cup 2014)
LBW proved to be India's Achilles Heel in the series. Their batters got trapped LBW 14 times across the three games.
Most wickets lost through LBW for India in an ODI bilateral series
14 vs Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, 2024
10 vs Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, 2008
9 vs Australia in India, 2007
9 vs Bangladesh in Bangladesh, 2014
Kohli himself was responsible for inflating these numbers. He was trapped LBW in all three matches, leading him to join an unwanted club.
Most times getting out LBW against spinners in an ODI bilateral series
3 - JP Duminy vs SL, 2004
3 - Brendon Taylor vs BAN, 2009
3 - Devon Smith vs PAK, 2011
3 - Aleister Cook vs SL, 2014
3 - Niall O'Brian vs IRE, 2017
3 - Paul Stirling vs AFG, 2017
3 - JP Duminy vs IND, 2018
3 - Virat Kohli vs SL, 2024
For Sri Lanka, Dunith Wellalage once again stepped up against India. He scored over 100 runs and took seven wickets with the ball.
His five-wicket haul in the third ODI made him the first spinner to take multiple 5+ wicket hauls against India in ODIs.
Players to take multiple 5+ wicket hauls against India in ODIs
4 - Brett Lee (AUS)
3 - Aaqib Javed (PAK)
3 - Mustafizur Rahman (BAN)
2 - Mitchell Starc (AUS)
2 - Mervyn Dillon (WI)
2 - Dunith Wellalage (SL)
Most 5-wicket hauls for spinners aged 21 or below in ODIs
4 - Saqlain Mushtaq
4 - Rashid Khan
2 - Sandeep Lamichanne
2 - Dunith Wellalage
He also became only the third player to win a "Player of the Series" award against India in an ODI series, aged 21 and below.
U21 Players to win multiple "Player of the match" against India in ODIs
2- Aaqib Javed (Pakistan)
2 - Quinton de Kock (South Africa)
2 - Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh)
2 - Salman Butt (Pakistan)
2 - Dunith Wellalage (Sri Lanka)
U21 Players to win "Player of the series" against India in ODIs
Quinton de Kock, 2013
Mustafizur Rahman, 2015
Dunith Wellalge, 2024
Jeffrey Vandersay, who entered the series late after Wanindu Hasaranga's injury in the first ODI, showed his skill in the second game by taking a 6-fer. He became the first player to take six consecutive wickets in an ODI against India. He ended the series with eight wickets, becoming the highest wicket-taker in this series.
Instances of bowlers taking consecutive wickets against India in ODI inns
6 wickets - Jeffrey Vandersay, Colombo, 2024
5 wickets - Imran Khan, Sharjah, 1985
4 wickets - Chaminda Vaas, Sharjah, 2000
4 wickets - Jermaine Lawson, Vijayawada, 2002
4 wickets - Andre Adams, Queenstown, 2003
Best figures for a spinner against India in ODIs
7/30 - Muttiah Muralitharan, Sharjah, 2000
6/13 - Ajantha Mendis, Karachi, 2008
6/33 - Jeffrey Vandersay, Colombo, 2024
6/54 - Akila Dananjaya, Pallekele, 2017
From an Indian perspective, Rohit Sharma was the only batter who had a good series. He registered two 50+ scores in three ODIs and finished with the most runs in this series.
He also achieved a couple of milestones, including completing 2000 runs against Sri Lanka, becoming the seventh player to score 2000+ runs against multiple opponents in ODIs.
2000+ runs against multiple opponents in ODIs
4 – Sachin Tendulkar (IND) vs AUS, PAK, SA, SL
3 – Virat Kohli (IND) vs AUS, SL, WI
2 – Inzamam Ul Haq (PAK) vs IND, SL
2 – Saeed Anwar (PAK) vs IND, SL
2 – Sanath Jaysuriya (SL) vs IND, PAK
2 – Desmond Haynes (WI) vs AUS, PAK
2 – Rohit Sharma (IND) vs AUS, SL
Both of his fifties came inside the first 10 overs, making him only the second captain after Brendon McCullum to score four or more fifties as captain inside the powerplay.
Captains scoring fifty inside first 10 overs in ODIs
5 - Brendon McCullum (NZ)
4 - Rohit Sharma (IND)
1 - Chris Gayle (WI)
1 - Gautam Gambhir (IND)
1 - Tamim Iqbal (BAN)
1 - Upul Tharanga (SL)
1 - John Davidson (CAN)
Indian batters to score fifties inside powerplay(1-10) in ODIs
7 - Virender Sehwag
4 - Rohit Sharma
1 - Gautam Gambir
1 - Sachin Tendulkar
Fastest fifty for Rohit Sharma in ODIs
27 balls vs BAN, Chattogram, 2022
29 balls vs SL, Colombo, 2024
30 balls vs AFG, Delhi, 2023
31 balls vs AUS, Rajkot, 2023
With India not scheduled to play any ODI for the rest of the year, this is the fourth time overall and the first time in 45 years they will finish a calendar year without a victory in ODIs.
India going winless in a calendar year in ODIs
1974 - 2 matches, 2 losses
1976 - 2 matches, 2 losses
1979 - 3 matches, 3 losses
2024 - 3 matches, 2 losses, 1 tie
Most ties in international cricket
17 - India
17 - New Zealand
15 - West Indies
14 - Australia
13 - Pakistan
Veteran match official Ranjan Madugalle also achieved a milestone in the third ODI, becoming the first match official (umpire or referee) to officiate 400 ODIs.
Most matches officiated in ODIs
400* - Ranjan Madugalle (Referee)
361 - Chris Broad (Referee)
329 - Jeff Crowe (Referee)
299 - Aleem Dar (Umpire)
268 - Javagal Srinath (Referee)
