India Vs Sri Lanka 2017: Virat Kohli Eyeing To Break Sourav Ganguly’s Record Against The Lions

India Vs Sri Lanka 2017 series is all set to be kicked off on 16th November at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata and while the hosts will be looking to continue their successful run in the home season, Sri Lanka will be looking for a revenge after India whitewashed them in an away series in all the three formats.

Since India emerged victorious in all the nine matches they played in Sri Lanka including a 3-match Test series, 5-match ODI series, and a solitary T20I, they will enter the second India Vs Sri Lanka 2017 fixture as the hot favorites.

However, captain Virat Kohli, who has had one of the most well-heeled runs as the skipper, will be looking to add another class-defining feature to his journey as the Indian team captain as he is expected to surpass Sourav Ganguly’s record of most Test wins in the least number of matches.

If the Indian team repeats its success against Sri Lanka and manages a clean 3-0 tally, Virat Kohli will have a tally of 22 Test wins in 32 matches. On the other hand, Sourav Ganguly, the second most successful Test captain that India has ever seen, has a tally of 21 Test wins in a total of 49 games as the skipper.

While the Virat Kohli-led side is in top form with a backing of eight consecutive Test series victories, whitewashing Sri Lanka by 3-0 in their own backyard being the latest, the unbeaten streak also started in Sri Lanka in 2015 and since then, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, Bangladesh, England, Australia, all have tasted dust against India in the longest format of the game.

As far as Virat Kohli’s biggest achievements as the Indian skipper are concerned, during India’s tour to West Indies, the visitors won the first test by innings-and-92-runs after Virat Kohli scored 200 at Antigua, which was India’s biggest ever Tests win outside of Asia.

Interestingly, MS Dhoni sits at top of the list with 27 victories in 60 matches and considering that India will be touring South Africa and England next year, we expect Dhoni’s record to remain unbeaten for quite a while. That said, the pace with which Virat Kohli is leading his side to victories, it seems like a matter of months before he emerges as the most successful Indian captain in Tests.

Coming to the India vs Sri Lanka 2017 series, the Lions will be in India for a Test, ODI and T20I series consisting of three matches, each and here is the full schedule of the fixture.

India vs Sri Lanka 2017 Test Series

November 16-20 – First Test, Kolkata

November 24-28 – Second Test, Nagpur

December 2-6 – Third Test, Delhi

India vs Sri Lanka 2017 ODI Series

December 10 – First ODI, Dharamsala

December 13 – Second ODI, Mohali

December 17 – Third ODI, Visakhapatnam

India vs Sri Lanka 2017 T20I Series

December 20 – First T20, Cuttack

December 22 – Second T20, Indore

December 24 – Third T20, Mumbai

Squads

India (First Two Tests): Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Sri Lanka (Test Series): Dinesh Chandimal(c), Dhananjaya de Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Gamage, Vishwa Fernando, Lakshan Sandakan, Niroshan Dickwella, Dasun Shanaka and Roshen Silva.