What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear about India taking on Sri Lanka in a World Cup game? It’s got to be the 2011 World Cup Final in Mumbai! The Cricket World Cup is all about having belief in your side and show character no matter whoever you play against. The top teams in this tournament have done exactly the same and it clearly appears in terms of their performance. Speaking about the most recent occasion when these two sides met at an ICC event, Sri Lanka managed to chase down a huge total against India during the Champions Trophy in 2017. This indicates the level of unpredictability that major tournaments carry with them and teams can end up being involved in upsets. Sri Lanka as a team can force their opponents to rethink about the moves and strategies and the India vs Sri Lanka contest has been quite an eventful one in past tournaments.

Let's have a look at the history of India vs Sri Lanka clashes in the Cricket World Cup -

World Cup 1996

India hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup and played some good cricket throughout the tournament. Facing Sri Lanka in the semifinals of the tournament, it was a good opportunity for Team India to qualify to the finals and win it on their home soil. Bowling first, India showed tremendous composure restricting Sri Lanka to a total of 251. In a World Cup semifinal, there is always pressure riding on the team irrespective of how small the total is. India were off to a great start and Sachin Tendulkar was on fire early on, in the innings. After he got dismissed, India suffered a major collapse and the batsmen didn't manage to stick to the crease. Sri Lanka went on to win the World Cup after winning that game.

World Cup 2007

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 was a tournament that Team India didn't have any happy memories of. India and Sri Lanka faced each other in Group stage match. India won the toss and decided to field first. Sri Lanka made a competitive total of 254. The slowness of the surfaces in the West Indies during the 2007 World Cup made it tougher for teams to bat second. Team India had a strong batting lineup with the likes of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. Although, the total proved to be way too difficult for the Indian batsmen in the end as they were dismissed for 185.

World Cup 2011

The 2011 Cricket World Cup Final has been known as one of the greatest things that has ever happened to Indian Cricket. India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh hosted the 2011 World Cup and the final was played in Mumbai. Bowling first, Team India started tremendously well by picking up the early wicket of Upul Tharanga and managed to keep the Sri Lankan batsmen quiet. Mahela Jayawardene scored an outstanding century and Kumar Sangakkara played a handy knock to power Sri Lanka to a commanding total of 274/6. The Indian opening duo of Sachin and Sehwag walked out to the middle at the Wankhede and Malinga dismissed both of them within the powerplay itself. Gautam Gambhir scored a magnificent 97 and MS Dhoni played a captain's knock that helped Team India win their second World Cup title after 28 years.

Who do you think is going to come out on top on 6th June? Considering this is the final group stage game, India might look to go ahead with some experimentations to get a better understanding of the team composition.