Former captain Mahela Jayawardene hit a classy unbeaten century to help Sri Lanka close on 305 for five on the first day of the second Test against South Africa in Colombo on Thursday. In a chanceless six hours at the crease, Jayawardene finished on 140 not out off 225 balls, including one six and 16 fours, to give Sri Lanka a solid start in their bid to level the two-match series.
Trent Boult needed just 15 balls to change the complexion of the second Test against Sri Lank
England captain Eoin Morgan has said that he did not come into the ICC World T20 with an aim of achieving a specific target but the endeavour has always been to get the best out of the available resources. Asked if he had expected at the start that England will qualify for the semi-finals, Morgan said: "I don't expect a great deal to be honest. I don't set expectations, barriers or limitations. It's all about getting the best out of what we have and at the moment and we seem to be doing that. If we do that from here on in, we put ourselves in really good position." Morgan is happy that the T20 unit has shown a lot of character in recent times by winning pressure games. "It gives us a great deal of confidence. I think in three of our wins we've had to show an immense amount of character, having to chase down 230 (vs SA) and then against Afghanistan, we put our backs against the wall early. We had to fight quite hard.
Sri Lankan batting once again promised a lot but delivered too little losing as many as seven wickets for 53 runs after they were cruising along at 185 for 3.
Sri Lanka beat England with just one ball to spare to win the second Test at Headingley by 100 runs on Tuesday and take the two-match series 1-0.
Rajasthan Royals defeated Delhi Daredevils by three wickets.
Here is a factbox on the third and final Test between India and Sri Lanka beginning at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday:
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.
"In today's context, we have not done well. I would like to still encourage the bowlers saying that they have slowed the process a little bit. We need to take 20 wickets and that's for sure," he added.
Sri Lanka's openers confidently negotiated an awkward session at the end of a rain-interrupted fourth day at Lord's on Sunday, setting up the prospect of a fascinating finish to the third and final Test against England.
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.
Fast bowler Suranga Lakmal took four for 27 to set up Sri Lanka's 10-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the first Test in Harare on Thursday.
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.
Part-time spinner Kraigg Brathwaite took six wickets in an inspired bowling performance as West Indies bowled Sri Lanka out for 206 in their second innings to leave the touring side with a target of 244 to win the second Test.
While Sri Lanka will be fancying their chances against a lowly South African side, the Proteas would be more than keen to make a statement against the 1996 winners.
Pakistan's Yasir Shah claimed seven second innings wickets in a spectacular display of leg-spin bowling to destroy Sri Lanka.
Keshav Maharaj claimed a career-best eight for 116 to prevent Sri Lanka from making the most of a strong start and limiting them to 277 for nine on the opening day of the second and final Test on Friday.
England will be determined to get their act together against defending champions Sri Lanka.
Pakistan's teenage fast bowler Naseem Shah led the hosts' recovery against Sri Lanka on a riveting opening day as Test cricket returned to the country on Wednesday for the first time since a militant attack in 2009.
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.
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.
The 13th edition of the IPL will have added significance as 2020 is also a T20 World Cup year.
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.
Dhananjaya de Silva's heroic hundred and Roshen Silva's gallant, unbeaten 74 helped secure Sri Lanka's morale-boosting draw in final Test against India, who won the three-match series 1-0 on Wednesday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the interesting numbers from Day 1 of the second Test between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo.
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.
Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal picked up two wickets in the last session to restrict Sri Lanka to 220 for 5 at stumps on the first day of the third and final Test in Sharjah on Thursday.
Sri Lanka opener Kusal Perera blasted the second fastest one-day fifty in their series-levelling two-wicket victory against Pakistan in the second ODI at Pallekele on Wednesday.
Younis Khan scored an epic unbeaten 171 to guide Pakistan to their highest successful run chase and a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the third Test in Pallekele on Tuesday. It enabled the tourists clinch the three-match series by a 2-1 margin.
England will return on Thursday to chase down a 240-run victory target and stay alive in the seven-match contest against Sri Lanka after rain forced play to be suspended in the fifth one-day international in Pallekele on Wednesday.
Shehzad-Ali add 120 runs for second wicket as Pakistan trail by six runs with eight wickets in hand
England's Liam Plunkett smashed the last ball of the match for six to earn his team a dramatic tie with Sri Lanka in the first one-day international in Nottingham on Tuesday.
Bowlers dominated the day with 16 wickets falling in the entire day.
Skipper Virat Kohli's magnificent 243 was overshadowed by unprecedented scenes of mask-wearing Sri Lankan players, who halted proceedings thrice, complaining of poor air quality, on Day 2 of the third Test, in New Delhi.
Virat Kohli is a fan of Rohit Sharma's batting and the India captain feels his teammate's record-breaking ODI score of 264 against Sri Lanka will not be surpassed anytime soon.
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.
Zimbabwe were seven wickets away from their maiden Test win over Sri Lanka on Monday after setting the hosts a target of 388 in their one-off match at the R. Premadasa Stadium.
Sri Lanka stunned tournament hosts England by completing a 20-run victory at Headingley. Lasith Malinga was player of the match after taking 4/43 to rip through England's batting attack.
South Africa need six more wickets with two days still to play to win the second Test against Sri Lanka, who closed the third day at Newlands on Wednesday on 130 for four, still 377 runs behind the mammoth target set them. Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada both took two wickets in the Sri Lankan second innings as the home team closed in on victory and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. South Africa have ample time to whittle away the rest of the Sri Lankan batting while the visitors, set 507 runs to win, must survive six more sessions if they are to force a most improbable outcome.
Chasing 268 to go 1-0 up in the two-Test series, Karunaratne's 161-run opening stand with Lahiru Thirimanne (64) set the tone for a successful chase at the Galle International Stadium.
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