India IND vs SL Sri Lanka T20 head to head looks at the historical record of these two international teams in the shortest format of the game including number of wins, highest and lowest scores in matches involving both team and the top player achievements in T20 fixtures between India IND and SL Sri Lanka.
These two Indian Ocean neighbours have a rich history in T20 head to head terms with India and Sri Lanka having played each other in internationals more times than most nations around the world. In recent years, India have dominated Sri Lanka in T20s as the head to head records below show but the Sri Lankans can at least point to the fact that on the biggest stage, the T20 World Cup, they have a 100% win record to date against India.
However, the last of those T20 World Cup victories came in 2014 and over the last decade or so these are 2 teams have been travelling in opposite directions. India with all the power and wealth of the BCCI and IPL have an abundance of T20 talent whereas Sri Lanka who revolutionised the white ball game in 1990s have been beset with in fighting and corruption and now find themselves towards the bottom of the ICC rankings in all formats. In the short term at least it seems likely that the India vs Sri Lanka T20 head to head statistics will continue to favour India.
Furthermore, as the India vs Sri Lanka head to head records of leading run scorers and wicket takers show, despite the depth of Indian cricket they have largely stuck with a winning team over a significant period of time meaning that they dominate the all-time charts below whereas Sri Lanka have been forced to continually reshuffle in search of a winning formula that to date has alluded them.
That being said with India looking to dominate on all fronts, their upcoming T20 series with Sri Lanka will see them without their Test stars who will already have travelled to England for a series starting their in August giving the chance for some of their white ball specialists to continue the dominance India have shown over Sri Lanka in T20 head to head stats.
IND vs SL T20 head to head record
| IND Wins | SL Wins | No result / tie |
| 14 | 5 | 1 |
IND vs SL T20 head to head record by match location
| Location of match | IND Wins | SL Wins | No result / tie |
| in India | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| in Sri Lanka | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| in the Caribbean | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| in Bangladesh | 1 | 1 | 0 |
IND vs SL T20 head to head record by competition
| Competition type | IND wins | SL wins | No result / tie |
| Bilateral series | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| T20 World Cup | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Asia Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nidahas Trophy | 1 | 1 | 0 |
IND vs SL recent T20 results
| Venue | Year | Toss | 1st innings | 2nd innings | Result |
| R.Premadasa | 2021 | SL field | IND 164/5 | SL 126 | IND 38 runs |
| Maharashtra | 2020 | SL field | IND 201/6 | SL 123 | IND 78 runs |
| Holkar | 2020 | IND field | SL 142/9 | IND 144/3 | IND 7 wkts 15 balls |
| Guwahati | 2020 | n/a | n/a | n/a | N/R |
| R.Premadasa Stadium | 2018 | IND field | SL 152/9 | IND 153/4 | IND 6 wkts 9 balls |
Leading run scorers in India vs Sri Lanka T20 matches
| Batsman | Team | Total Runs |
| V Kohli | India | 339 |
| S Dhawan | India | 335 |
| KL Rahul | India | 295 |
| RG Sharma | India | 289 |
| SK Raina | India | 265 |
NB – The current highest run scorer for Sri Lanka in head to head T20 matches vs India is KC Sangakkara with 235 runs
Leading wicket takers in India vs Sri Lanka T20 matches
| Bowler | Team | Total Wickets |
| YS Chahal | India | 15 |
| R Ashwin | India | 13 |
| PVD Chameera | Sri Lanka | 12 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | India | 10 |
| SN Thakur | India | 9 |
| HH Pandya | India | 9 |
Highest score in an India vs Sri Lanka T20 match
India’s score of 260 for 5 is the highest in T20 head to head matches vs Sri Lanka. The record total was made at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore in a match played in 2017.
India’s incredible total vs Sri Lanka was at the time the 2nd highest total ever recorded in a T20 international behind only Australia’s 265 also scored against Sri Lanka the year before.
Rohit Sharma was simply irrestiable scoring 118 from 43 deliveries (see below for record highest total in India vs Sri Lanka games) and putting on a partnership of 165 from just 76 balls with fellow opener KL Rahul. Indeed had India not have lost a bit of momentum late on scoring just 6 runs from the 16th over and 7 runs from the final over then this surely would have been a world record T20 total and could even have pushed the mythical 300 run mark which no side is yet to achieve.
As you can imagine the Sri Lankan bowling figures were a sight for sore eyes with only Angelo Matthews who perhaps wisely pulled up with an injury midway through his 3rd over managing any kind of respectability. Sri Lanka would go onto lose by 88 runs.
Watch highlights of India’s record score in T20 head to head with Sri Lanka here
Sri Lanka’s highest total against India in T20 cricket came in 2009 in a match at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha where they scored 215.
Lowest score in an India vs Sri Lanka T20 match
Sri Lanka’s total of 82 all out is the lowest in India vs Sri Lanka T20 head to head matches. The record low total came at the Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy International Cricket Stadium in a T20 match in 2016.
While Ravi Ashwin may now be deemed surplus to requires in T20 cricket for India his record against Sri Lanka in the shortest format is excellent with 13 head to head wickets against them with 4 of those coming in this match. In fact, Aswin dismissed the Sri Lankan top 4 during the powerplay in this match in an opening spell of 3 overs, 1 maiden, 4 wickets for 3 runs conceded.
Unsurprisingly, Sri Lanka never recovered from their dreadful start with only 2 batsmen in Shanaka and Perera making double figures and the team as a whole losing 7 wickets to India’s spinners.
The resulting defeat for Sri Lanka came as part of a 2-1 series win for India and marked a change in the head to head results of IND vs SL. Prior to the record low total, Sri Lanka were actually ahead 4 to 3 in head to head T20 results but as the statistics above show, they have struggled to beat India in the shortest format ever since.
Watch highlights of Sri Lanka’s record low score in T20 head to head with India here
Top score by a batsman in India vs Sri Lanka T20 head to head matches
The top score by a batsman in India vs Sri Lanka T20 fixtures was made by Rohit Sharma who hit 118 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore in 2017.
Rohit who was captaining the side in the absence of Virat Kohli played a typically well paced innings bringing up his 50 in aggressive fashion from 23 balls before moving through the gears to score his next 50 from just 12 balls and hundred from 35 deliveries equalling David Miller’s record for the fastest T20 century recorded just a couple of months earlier.
Rohit hit 12 x 4s and 10 x 6s in his innings of 118. His 10 maximums currently represents a T20 record for an Indian batsmen in a single T20 innings. Given his reputation for hitting massive scores in 50 over cricket there was perhaps a sense of disappointment when Rohit was out with 82 deliveries still to play with every chance that he would become the first man to score a double hundred had he have batted through the overs.
Highlights of Rohit’s highest total can be found under the record for highest score in India vs Sri Lanka T20 head to head matches.
Kumar Sangakkara’s 78 made in 2009 in only the second head to head T20 match between IND and SL remains Sri Lanka’s highest total by a batsman in this fixture.
Best bowling figures in India vs Sri Lanka T20 head to head matches
The best bowling figures in India vs Sri Lanka T20 fixtures were recorded by Ravi Ashwin who took 4 for 8 at the Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy International Cricket Stadium in 2016.
Again this individual feat is linked to a team record with Ashwin’s figures coming in the same match which saw Sri Lanka dismissed for a record low T20 score against India. Opening the bowling, Ashwin benefited from a pitch with a bit of turn, some poor stroke play by the Sri Lankan batsmen and at least one bit of good fortune with one of his wickets caught at leg-slip looking to have missed the gloves and bat altogether.
Highlights of Ashwin’s performance can be found under the record for lowest score in India vs Sri Lanka T20 head to head matches.
The best bowling figures by Sri Lanka in T20 matches vs India was delivered by Dasun Shanaka who took 3 for 16 in a rare victory for Sri Lanka in T20 head to head results vs India back in 2016.