SL vs IND: Five instances where India lost Most Wickets to 'Sri Lanka's Spin Web' in an ODI

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The highly-anticipated Rohit-Gambhir era got off to a disappointing start as Team India surrendered at the hands of Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series. The hosts can take pride in the fact that they won their first ODI series against Team India for the first time since 1997.

After a strong start to the tour with a 3-0 T20I series win, India's performance took a downward turn in the ODIs, both in batting and bowling. Rohit Sharma & Co which had shown promise early on, struggled as the series advanced.

The most worrying aspect of India's gameplay was their inability to handle spin, a problem that ultimately led to their historic 2-0 series defeat against their neighbours.

Indian batters failed to crack the spin code, which was evident throughout the series, culminating in a shocking statistic as the visitors lost as many as 27 wickets to spin in the three-match ODI series.

That record was the most by any team in a bilateral ODI series with a maximum of 3 games. In this article, let's now delve deep into the five instances when India lost most wickets to spin against Sri Lanka in an ODI.

Five times when India fell to Sri Lankan Spin in ODIs

10 wickets vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2023: Sri Lankan spinners inflicted a truckload of damage on Team India during the 2023 Asia Cup. In the Super Four game, Dunith Wellalage was the pick of the bowlers as he took a five-wicket haul whereas Charith Asalanka took four wickets.

Maheesh Theekshana took a wicket as India lost all their wickets to Sri Lankan spinners and set up a target of 214. Despite a low target, the India defended the target with the help of Kuldeep Yadav's 4/43 as the visitors won by 41 runs.

9 wickets vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 1997: During India's tour of Sri Lanka in 1997, the visitors under the captaincy of Sachin Tendulkar were bowled out for 238 runs in the second ODI in Colombo. Sri Lankan spinners combined together and accounted for nine dismissals.

Upul Chandana was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts as he took three wickets whereas Kumar Dharmasena, Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya took two wickets apiece. Sri Lanka chased down the target without any fuss as they won by 7 wickets.

9 wickets vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2024: Sri Lanka posted 230/8 in their quota of 50 overs and in response, India failed to cross the finishing line in the first ODI as the match ended in a tie.

Once again, the Indian batters failed to navigate the spin challenges before falling prey to Sri Lanka's spin web. The likes of Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka took three wickets each whereas Dunith Wellalage took two wickets and Akila Dananjaya took a wicket to his name.

9 wickets vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2024: Sri Lankan spinners gave the Indian batters a run for their money by taking nine wickets overall. Batting first, Sri Lanka posted 240/9 in 50 overs in the second ODI. In reply, India were bowled out for 208 (42.2 overs).

Jeffrey Vandersay hogged the limelight by taking 6/33 in 10 overs, which was his career-best bowling figures. Apart from him, captain Charith Asalanka took three wickets to his name as Sri Lanka won by 32 runs.

9 wickets vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2024: Dunith Wellalage was the wrecker-in-chief as he accounted for five dismissals whereas the likes of Jeffrey Vandersay and Maheesh Theekshana took two wickets apiece.

The spinners combined together to rip through India's defense as the Men in Blue were bowled out for 138 runs in the ODI series decider. Sri Lanka won the ODI by a huge margin of 110 runs and also clinched the series by 2-0.