Getting the wicket of "dangerman" Virender Sehwag early on Wednesday will be crucial for Sri Lanka's chance of winning the first cricket Test, according to spinner Rangana Herath, who stole the spotlight with an unbeaten 80.
There was finally some joy among the gloom as fans thronged the Narendra Modi stadium in Motera for the second Test match between India and England.
Sri Lanka announced an unchanged 15-man squad for the second Test against South Africa which starts in Colombo on August 11.
England paceman James Anderson has received an International Cricket Council code of conduct reprimand for showing disrespect to umpire S Ravi during the third Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's, the global governing body said.
Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Lokesh Rahul featured in a rollicking 166-run stand to help India erase the 122-run lead they had conceded to Sri Lanka on the penultimate day of the opening Test on Sunday.
Riding on Jonathan Trott's double hundred (203) and Ian Bell's 98 (not out), England reached 491 for five in reply to Sri Lanka's 400 all out at stumps on Day 4 of the first Test on Sunday.
Harbhajan Singh's lackluster performance in the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka has put him under pressure.
India were dismissed for 642 in their first innings after tea on day two of the second Test against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
Images from Day 5 in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka, in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
New Zealand faced an uphill struggle to avert a 2-0 series defeat as they closed on 182 for six, having been set a 494-run victory target by Sri Lanka on the fourth day of the second Test in Colombo on Saturday. Herath was the chief wicket-taker for Sri Lanka, following his three-wicket haul in the first innings, with four for 73 from 21 overs.
Sri Lanka seized control of the second Test against New Zealand on Friday as they reached 157 for two, a lead of 339 runs, at stumps on Day 3.
Pakistan leg spinner Danish Kaneria took five for 62 to help bowl Sri Lanka out for 233 on an action-packed second day of the third Test on Tuesday. Kaneria, playing his first game of the series, bowled superbly to give Pakistan a 66-run first-innings lead.
Senior Sri Lankan batsman Dinesh Chandimal admitted that his side cannot always use 'transition phase' as an excuse for the team not doing well in recent times. Ahead of their World T20 cricket match against England on Saturday, Chandimal blamed on "inexperience of middle-order" for their inconsistent performances of late but he added that players need to "put their hands up and perform". "You cannot always say transition. We need to put our hands up. We will give our best shot in the next game," Chandimal said when asked whether a team comprising of Tillakaratne Dilshan, him, Chamara Kapugedara, Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera can be termed as inexperienced.
Sri Lanka's bowlers engineered a dramatic Pakistan batting collapse to clinch a 50-run victory on the fourth day of the opening Test on Tuesday.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, on Thursday.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India in Galle, on Wednesday.
The Sri Lankan selectors, on Sunday, dropped batsman Kusal Mendis from their 15-member squad while Angelo Mathews returned to lead the side in the upcoming tour of India.
Sri Lanka beat Australia by 163 runs in the final test in Colombo on Wednesday to complete a 3-0 sweep in the three-match series. Chasing 324 for victory, Australia were all out for 160 half-an-hour before the tea break, succumbing to their third successive defeat against the hosts.
The Lankans were 160-3 after their spinners bowled out Bangladesh for 188 in 44 overs on the first day of the first Test.
Several injury-prone pace bowlers including Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan Kulasekera have missed out
He has been roped in to arrest the downslide in Sri Lankan cricket and Asanka Gurusinha's assessment of the fall is quite simple -- not grooming anyone to fill in Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara's shoes.
Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews was on Wednesday dropped from their limited-overs squad to face England next month, two days after the country's cricket board asked him to relinquish his captaincy in the shorter formats of the game.
Dinesh Chandimal-led Sri Lankan squad,on Wednesday arrived for their six-week tour of India, which starts here with the first of the three-Test series, beginning on November 16.
England batsman Joe Root and Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath have moved up to second positions in their respective ICC Test player rankings but failed to displace top-ranked batsman Steve Smith and bowler Ravichandran Ashwin.
Mahela Jayawardene will lead Sri Lanka for the Test series against South Africa as well as the one-day series, involving India, next month.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal is hoping that senior spinner Rangana Herath will be more effective in the second Test against India as the track, in Nagpur, has less grass as compared to Eden Gardens.
Sri Lankan medium-pacer Nuwan Pradeep is likely to miss the second cricket Test against India, starting on Thursday as he is yet to fully recover from a hamstring injury.
The Pakistan all-rounder took five for 35 to help dismiss Sri Lanka for 208 on the opening day of the second Test.
Sri Lanka named a 16-member team for the upcoming Test series against India with uncapped 23-year-old fast bowler Vishwa Fernando the only fresh face picked by the national selectors.
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has been called up as his replacement for the second Test against Australia.
Lokuarachchi returns after serving a 4-month disciplinary ban following his involvement in a late-night car accident.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the interesting numbers from Day 4 of the India-England Test at Trent Bridge.
India were set a tricky target of 176 runs to win the first Test against Sri Lanka after Dinesh Chandimal produced a counter-attacking unbeaten 162 to lead a spirited fightback for the hosts in Galle.
Younis Khan scored 124 as to propel Pakistan to 298 for four at the close of the second day, a first innings lead of 90 in the second Test against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 201 runs on the final day of the first Test on Sunday.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, on Friday.
Anderson now has seven wickets in the match.
Ajinkya Rahane became the first fielder in Test history to take eight catches, achieving the feat in the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Friday.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal will miss next week's first Test against India after being diagnosed with pneumonia, dealing a big blow to the hosts ahead of the three-match home series against their neighbours.
Zimbabwe lost two early wickets but recovered to finish 126 for two at the close on the second day of the second Test on Monday in reply to Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 504. Brian Chari and Craig Ervine were both 60 not out as Zimbabwe fought back after a poor start when they slumped to 17 for two but the hosts still trail by 378 runs. Sri Lanka, who won a closely contested first Test last week, went from 290 for five overnight to being dismissed just before tea with Asela Gunaratne completing a maiden test century.
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