Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors Sanath Jayasuriya has said that the hastily-arranged five-match ODI series in India, to be held in early next month, will help the fringe players prove their worth before next year's World Cup.
Both the teams lost their opening matches but bounced back into reckoning after producing two of the tournament's biggest upsets so far.
South Africa reclaimed top spot in the Test rankings after grimly hanging on for a draw in the second and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, on Monday to win the series 1-0.
The visitors bowled India out to be in an advantageous position, resisted the Indian attack nicely and successfully called two DRS reviews
Angelo Mathews has been declared fit and available for Sri Lanka's tour of India later this month as the islanders strive to end their limited-overs woes against their formidable neighbours.
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.
Images from Day 1 in the third Test between India and Sri Lanka, in Colombo.
On a roll after three consecutive wins, a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad will start as overwhelming favourites against struggling Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League match, in Hyderabad, on Tuesday.
Around 100 Indian fishermen who have been detained by Sri Lankan police are likely to be granted bail on Wednesday. Sri Lanka's Deputy minister of External Affairs, Neomal Perera told PTI that the fishermen will be produced before a magisterial court. "This is a bailable offence," he said.
South Africa were 389 for 9 at stumps on Day 2 of the first Test against Sri Lanka, a lead of 209 runs, after AB de Villiers smashed 99 runs off 135 balls and shared a 97-run stand with Ashwell Prince.
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six wickets to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.
The squad includes representatives from seven nations for the games, which will have international status, in Lahore on September 12, 13 and 15.
Lyrics sung by young pop star Lahiru Perera reportedly upset Rajapaksa and a presidential aide said that the President was unhappy at taunts in the song against competing countries.
India completed a 3-0 series sweep against Sri Lanka on Sunday following their five-wicket victory in the final Twenty20 International at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
India's quest for a historic treble ended in heartbreak as Sri Lanka came up with a clinical performance to beat them by six wickets in the final of the World T20 in Mirpur on Sunday. While Sri Lanka emerged third time lucky in a World T20 summit clash, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's hopes of adding a second World T20 title to the 50-over World Cup triumph in 2011 and Champions Trophy in England two years later ended in disappointment.
A struggling Kings XI Punjab will have to pull out all stops against in-form and unbeaten, Rajasthan Royals, when the two teams clash in an Indian Premier League match in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
South Africa remained on course for victory at the close at Kingsmead on Friday.
The board has formulated new sports guidelines for schools mandating them to have a daily sports period for class 9 to 12 so as to prevent students from having a sedentary lifestyle and turning into couch potatoes.
Ben Foakes marked his Test debut with a century and impressed with his glovework, too, as England bowled out Sri Lanka for 203 before stretching their lead to 177 runs on the second day of the opening Test in Galle.
The susceptible technique of Indian batsmen in seamer-friendly conditions was thoroughly exposed as Sri Lanka comfortably beat India by seven wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series.
Sri Lanka batted the 16 overs during the final 85 minutes of play on the fourth day with an aim to survive rather than play positive cricket.
Kohli edged Warner to take fifth position after completing his 50th international century in the first match of a three-Test series against Sri Lanka in Kolkata on Monday.
Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 199 runs with more than a day to spare in the second and final Test to complete a 2-0 series sweep at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Monday.
Looking for a proper tune-up before the three-match Test series against hosts Sri Lanka gets underway, India would be hoping that rain stays away from their one and only three-day practice game beginning at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, on Thursday.
Indians planning to visit Sri Lanka will no longer get their visas on arrival from September 30, with the government scraping the facility to foreigners, except visitors from Singapore and Maldives.
Rising Pune Supergiants will stand in the way of Kolkata Knight Riders's revival when they clash in an Indian Premier League T20 match?
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who is a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club World Cricket Committee, will skip its upcoming meeting at Lord's on August 11-12.
Rising Pune Supergiants now face an uphill task of taming the rampaging Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League clash, in Pune, on Friday.
Chasing 279 for victory, Sri Lanka overcame Woakes's triple strikes to reach 140-5 in 29 overs when heavy rain stopped play and England won the match under the scoring method governing such rain-marred matches.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said an inspirational net session with the legendary Kumar Sangakkara played a key role.
As India take on Sri Lanka in a three Test series, Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
India's inexperienced cricket team will have to recover quickly from the eye-opening loss to Sri Lanka and lift its game by a few notches against an unpredictable Bangladesh in the Nidahas Twenty20 Trophy, in Colombo, on Thursday.
Sri Lanka trained hard for the second One-day International (ODI) against India to be held at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Also returning to the 15-man squad, which will also take part in the upcoming Asia Cup tournament before the March 8-April 3 World Twenty20, was all-rounder Angelo Mathews.
Herath added three wickets to his previous day's removal of opener Kraigg Brathwaite (34) after taking six wickets in the first innings. He finished with match figures of 10-147.
Sri Lanka all-rounder and former skipper Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi next week with a calf injury, but the uncapped Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva and Lahiru Gamage are in the squad.
West Indies came up with a splendid performance with both bat and ball as they thrashed World XI by 72 runs in the Hurricane Relief Twenty20 Challenge at Lord's, on Thursday.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Sri Lanka - who shocked England so spectacularly in Leeds last week - must now beat West Indies and India in their final two games if they are to stand any chance of making the final four.
