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Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced the dates and venues for the Indian white-ball tour that begins on July 26. The Men in Blue will play three T20Is and as many ODIs from July 26 to August 7.
The tour will mark newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir's first assignment for Team India. The side are currently playing a five-match T20I series in Zimbabwe after the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. India lead the Zimbabwe T20I series 2-1 after going through the T20 World Cup unbeaten.
As for Sri Lanka, former opener Sanath Jayasuriya will be the interim head coach. The Lankans are coming off a dismal 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, where they were eliminated after the group stage. Sri Lanka's prestigious T20 competition, Lanka Premier League (LPL) is ongoing with most of the star players partaking in the same from July 1 to 21.
India and Sri Lanka last met in a bilateral series at the start of 2023 with India winning the T20I and ODI affairs by 2-1 and 3-0 margins. Meanwhile, India last toured Sri Lanka in 2021 with a similar itinerary of three ODI and T20I series.
Ironically, Rahul Dravid was India's stand-in coach for the tour as they won the ODI series 2-1 before suffering a surprising 1-2 defeat in the T20Is.
The upcoming battle will begin with the first two T20Is on back-to-back days, July 26 and 27 before the final encounter on July 29. All three games will be played at Pallekele.
These will be followed by the three-match ODI series starting on August 1 at Colombo. The same venue will host the final two games on August 4 and 7.
Team India boasts an excellent record against Sri Lanka in both white-ball formats with a 19-9 lead in T20Is and a 99-57 edge in ODIs.
India's tour of Sri Lanka Fixtures
T20Is:
26th July 2024, 1st T20I, Pallekele
27th July 2024, 2nd T20I, Pallekele
29th July 2024, 3rd T20I, Pallekele
ODIs:
1st August 2024, 1st ODI, Colombo
4th August 2024, 2nd ODI, Colombo
7th August 2024, 3rd ODI, Colombo
