Images of the third Test between India and Sri Lanka being played in Colombo
The veteran left-hander was unbeaten on 160 as Sri Lanka reached the close of play on 314 for five after captain Angelo Mathews had won the toss and opted to bat.
With Rahul likely to bat at No 4, asks Harish Kotian, will Ajinkya Rahane get a look in?
Half centuries from Colin de Grandhomme and B J Watling gave New Zealand a first-innings lead of 138 against Sri Lanka on the fourth day of the second and final Test in Colombo on Sunday.
South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
Virat Kohli would hope for a turnaround when India take on an under-prepared Sri Lanka in the second Test in Bengaluru
Indian bowlers once again put up an impressive performance by restricting Sri Lanka to a modest 138 for nine in the third round robin encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament in Dhaka on Tuesday. Opting to bowl, young guns Hardik Pandya (2/27 in 4 overs) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/26) continued their stellar show as the island nation never really got going during their innings. Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2/26 in 4 overs) also showed brilliant control during the back-10 while veteran Ashish Nehra (1/23) once again showed why he is a class apart. Such was India's dominance that their bowlers bowled 50 dot balls out of a possible 120 deliveries, which effectively meant 8.2 overs went without any runs being scored. India's potent new ball pair of Nehra and Bumrah were on target in the Powerplay overs once again.
Perera scored a valiant unbeaten 92 and together with Angelo Mathews (83) had put on 62 runs for the sixth wicket to keep Sri Lanka afloat in their first innings. They eventually folded up at 291 runs.
India registered just three victories in 11 Tests, worse than even Zimbabwe and the West Indies...
All-rounder James Faulkner became the sixth Australian cricketer to claim a hat-trick in one-day internationals, achieving the feat in the second match against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. The 26-year-old left-arm bowler got his first wicket when he trapped Kusal Perera leg-before with the final delivery of his eighth over.
The most consistent team across all seasons of the IPL, Chennai Super Kings would look to put behind the off-field distractions and do what they are best at when they take on previous edition's bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils in their opening match of the Twenty20 league.
Out-of-form Sri Lanka must play every pool game at the World Cup as if it were a knockout match to ignite their stuttering campaign, captain Angelo Mathews said.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal dropped hints that unlike the five-pronged bowling attack, which yielded results against Pakistan in the humid conditions in the United Arab Emirates, he may revert to four-bowler theory against India.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continued to be the best-placed Indians in the batting chart, while off-spinner Ravichandra Ashwin held on to second spot among bowlers in the latest ICC Test Player ranking, release on Wednesday.
World champions India have consolidated their top rank on the ICC ODI Team Rankings after sweeping the series against Sri Lanka, which concluded in Ranchi on Sunday.
Bishen Singh Bedi has praised Ravichandran Ashwin for his consistent showing in the three matches but came down hard on the other bowlers.
The evergreen Kumar Sangakkara struck his 36th Test century, and first at Lord's, as he guided Sri Lanka past the follow-on mark to finish on 415 for seven on the third day of the first Test against England on Saturday.
Root said that spinning tracks will throw challenges to the visiting team but they are adapting to the conditions quickly.
Sri Lanka's seamers shared eight wickets to vindicate captain Angelo Mathews's decision to bowl after winning the toss as Bangladesh were shot out for 232 on the opening day of the first Test in Dhaka on Monday. In reply, the tourists were 60 for no loss when stumps were drawn, with Dimuth Karunaratne unbeaten on 28 and Kaushal Silva on 30.
The 13th edition of the IPL will have added significance as 2020 is also a T20 World Cup year.
India amassed 600 in their first innings and returned to blow away the top half of the Sri Lankan batting order to tighten their grip on the first Test at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday.
Rajneesh Gupta picks the overseas stars at Monday's IPL Players auction.
Rohit Sharma-led India's main aim would be to settle their middle-order combination and also find a perfect batting position for Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Sohaib Maqsood and Fawad Alam struck quick-fire fifties and combined in a record 147-run sixth wicket stand as Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets with one ball remaining in the first one-day international at Hambantota on Saturday.
Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews has said the challenge of performance against India in their own backyard was never beyond doubt and that not many teams have won against India in India.
Ashwin moves into top-10, Dhawan in career-high 32nd spot in the latest ICC Test rankings
Bangladesh made a perfect start to their World Cup campaign, posting their highest one-day international score of 330-6 during the 21-run win over South Africa.
Saurashtra left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat has been recalled, while India also have three first-timers in Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Deepak Hooda for the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka.
It will be another test for the Indian batsmen if the hosts have to bat first in a must-win contest, in Wednesday's second ODI in Mohali.
Opener Lokesh Rahul scored a fighting century as India recovered from early jitters to post 319 for six in their first innings on Day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka, in Colombo, on Thursday.
Pacer Suranga Lakmal shone with the ball to help Sri Lanka steamroll India by seven wickets in the first one-day international in Dharamsala on Sunday.
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.
Yuvraj Singh has emerged as the costliest cricketer in the IPL 8 players' auction, bought for a record Rs 16 crore (USD 2.57 million approx) by Delhi Daredevils.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia, at Pallekele, on Tuesday.
Any other result than India's resounding win looks highly unlikely, consdering the visitors' rampaging run in the preceding Test and ODI series, where they whitewashed the hosts 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.
Alex Hales and Jonathan Bairstow led a fight back for England after debutant all-rounder Dasun Shanaka sparked a top-order collapse on the first day of the first Test against England at Headingley on Thursday. England, who were 70 for four soon after lunch, had moved on to 171 for five when rain prevented any play after tea and forced an early close to an intriguing opening day in the 75th Test staged at Headingley.
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.
The pressure will be on former captain Tillakaratne Dilshan to continue to play a pivotal role for Sri Lanka.
The Australia batsman has overtaken New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and is now only nine points behind India skipper Virat Kohli.
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