India should reach out to Sri Lanka and not push it into the dragon's arms, says Ganesh Nadar
Sri Lanka's most successful pacer Chaminda Vaas left the Sinhalese Sports Ground never to return to Test cricket again. It was a befitting end to an illustrious career as Sri Lanka, back against the wall, batted out a draw against the exasperating Pakistanis to win the three-match Test series 2-0 on Friday.
Though dubbed as the 'war hero', the role of Rajapaksa in ending the conflict with the LTTE with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009 is quite divisive as he stands accused of violating human rights, a charge he vehemently denies.
If Sri Lanka continues to follow the path of evasion and tries to impose a dictated solution on the Tamils, India has to act tough, says B Raman
Sri Lanka's Australian cricket coach Geoff Marsh has drawn criticism after the team's loss to Pakistan in the recent Test and ODI series in the UAE with media reports here stating that he was more focussed on his son Shaun's progress in the Aussie team.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal has been included in the 16-man squad for the second Test of the three-match series against India which begins on Thursday after recovering from illness.
Australia opener Brad Haddin on Tuesday rubbished reports that the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) is investigating their World Cup match against Zimbabwe for slow batting, dismissing the claims as 'laughable'.
'The ban is to ensure national security... No one should obscure their faces to make identification difficult,' Sirisena's office said in a statement.
Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapakse on Wednesday ordered a ban on a World Cup song that carries a latent threat to defending champions Australia and New Zealand.
South Africa's spin frailties were laid bare once again as the tourists collapsed for 124 to concede a first innings lead of 214 runs at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
The first One-day International between Sri Lanka and West Indies was abandoned because of rain at Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on Monday.
Having spent months in refugee camps, the homecoming to northern Sri Lanka is turning bitter for nearly 1,500 war-displaced Tamil families, as their houses have been unlawfully occupied allegedly by Sinhalese people.
With the individual brilliance of just-retired Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga missing, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday said his team will have to build bowling partnerships to trouble the Indians in the second cricket Test starting in Colombo on Monday.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today declared that the war against the LTTE was over as he reached out to the Tamil population, saying their protection was the responsibility of his government.
Still licking the wounds of a 10-wicket mauling in Galle, a jittery India go into the second cricket Test against Sri Lanka starting in Colombo on Sunday with their status as the World No 1 team at stake.
Daniel Vettori became second New Zealander (after Richard Hadlee) and 24th bowler overall to take 300 wickets in Test cricket, when he dismissed Kumar Sangakkara's on the first day of second and final Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on Wednesday. More remarkably, Vettori is the first left-arm spinner to accomplish the feat.
Adil Rashid and Ben Stokes scripted a spectacular turnaround to earn England a handy first-innings lead after skittling out Sri Lanka for 240 on day two of the third and final Test on Saturday.
Chasing an improbable target of 490 to level the series, the tourists finished day three on 139-5, their highest total in the spin-dominated series, at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday said that the government's fight was only against terrorism and that democracy will soon be restored in the embattled north of the country. Rajapaksa also said that the state was not against the Tamil people but against terrorists.
'If there is to be real peace in Sri Lanka, the end of Prabhakaran has to be brought about by the Tamils themselves and not by the Sinhalese army.'
Sri Lanka opener Tharanga Paranavitana has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the second Test against New Zealand. The punishment was handed down by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees following a hearing at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground at the conclusion of the second Test in Colombo on Sunday.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori on Wednesday joined the likes of Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee and Shane Warne when he became only the eighth all-rounder in Test cricket's history to collect 3,000 runs and bag 300 wickets.
The curfew was imposed on Sunday after a group of miscreants carrying swords attacked some people travelling on a three-wheeler in Porathota area of the town. The vehicle was set on fire.
Dambulla will host the first two games of India's five-match ODI tour of Sri Lanka on January 28 and 30.
Fresh from their series-levelling victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, some Indian players including captain Virat Kohli were seen enjoying a game of badminton.
Rajapaksa is the first president to be sworn in outside Colombo.
Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka is no ordinary general. He is the army commander in the Sri Lankan army and the man leading the military offensive in north Sri Lanka, which has virtually decimated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the world's most-dreaded guerrilla force today.
The ICC appointed Allan Hurst and Chris Broad as match referees for India's Test and one-day series against Sri Lanka respectively.
Will Killinocchi prove a turning point in the battle being fought between the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE? If the LTTE loses the battle, it could mark the beginning of its end as an insurgent force, but not as a terrorist organisation. If the Sri Lankan army wins, it will be a Pyrrhic victory, says B Raman
Scotland Yard's War Crimes Team, which is part of its Counter-Terrorism Command, has launched an investigation into the role of British mercenaries in fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in Sri Lanka during the 1980s.
It was the first time in seven years Sri Lanka had imposed the measure. The country was under a state of emergency for nearly three decades when the government fought Tamil rebels Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the civil war that ended in 2009.
Fourteen construction workers from the majority Sinhala community had been abducted and shot by the LTTE, said the Army.
Bangladesh conceded a huge 488-run first innings deficit on the second day of the first Test.
Ahead of talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, India Friday pitched for consensus among the island nation's main political parties to salvage the fragile truce.
India were 11 for no loss when the umpires decided to abandon play. The match will continue on Saturday.
Madhuri praised him in Sinhalese, saying, 'Gondhak hundai (Very good)', which instantly made Sanath smile.
Earlier, resuming on 3-0 and with an overall lead of 99, England lost Keaton Jennings leg before wicket for one off the first delivery of the day from Dilruwan Perera (5-88), which seemed to unhinge their top order.
In the absence of Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies will rely on the youngsters to perform against Sri Lanka in the Test series.
The first one-day international in Colombo was called off due to heavy rain on Saturday.
