England picked up three early wickets as Sri Lanka struggled to 218 for six at lunch on the third day of the third and final Test at Lord's on Saturday.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar says it was not a surprise that India struggled to wipe off the bottom half of the Sri Lankan batting line up since it was team's old habit and the pitch also tends to settle on the second and third day of a Test match, making batting easier.
As we head to the head to the business end of the tournament, that involves three former champions, a look at the players who flattered to deceive, faltering under the weight of expectations, hurting their respective teams.
As the beleaguered Indian cricket team start picking up pieces after a forgettable first Test, the spotlight is firmly fixed on team's senior-most pro Harbhajan Singh whose unimpressive show in the 63-run defeat has raised question marks about his future.
Ashwin moves into top-10, Dhawan in career-high 32nd spot in the latest ICC Test rankings
Indian Test captain Virat Kohli made it clear that the issue regarding the use of the controversial Decision Review System (DRS) needs to be deliberated after the end of the ongoing three-Test series against Sri Lanka.
Dinesh Chandimal lauded India's bowlers on their brilliant showing on Day 1 of the first Test, in Galle on Wednesday, saying the spinners exploited the conditions well.
Mathews has taken 253 balls on his way to what he hopes will be a 10th Test century and first in over a year
Richardson also took aim at players claiming confusion over ball-tampering rules, saying the laws were clear and their complaints "disingenuous" in a speech at the MCC's Colin Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's.
Kapugedera denied that the team was low on confidence. Instead, he said Sri Lanka finally have found some momentum for the first time in the ongoing series, what if they are yet to taste a victory against the Indians.
Fired four years ago following allegations of match-fixing, Ejaz Ahmed junior has been controversially appointed head coach of the Pakistan squad for the Asian Emerging Nations Cup, to be held in Karachi and Colombo in December.
Opener Rohit Sharma smashed an unbeaten 124 to help India overcome a top-order wobble and register a series-clinching six-wicket victory in the third one-day international against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Sunday.
Trent Boult took two wickets in one over and broke a partnership that had threatened to take the game out of New Zealand's reach as Sri Lanka reached 264 for seven by the end of a rain-shortened first day of the second Test on Friday.
Rain and an on-field injury which prevented South African opener Hashim Amla from batting spurred Sri Lanka to a 17-run win under the Duckworth-Lewis method in the second One-dayer in Colombo on Tuesday.
Seamer Nuwan Kulasekara picked up four wickets to help Sri Lanka register a comfortable 70-run win in the third and final one-day international against Bangladesh on Saturday and level the series at 1-1.
Rohit Sharma once again showed his class in the limited overs format with a stylish unbeaten 124 as India took an unassailable 3-0 lead with a six-wicket victory in the third ODI, which was marred by unruly crowd behaviour, in Pallekele, on Sunday.
Ahmed Shehzad smashed 95 off 90 balls as Pakistan thrashed below-par Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the fourth one-day match in Colombo on Wednesday to clinch the five-match series.
Fast bowler Ishant Sharma was again involved in an altercation with Sri Lankan players during India's second innings on Day 4 of the third Test in Colombo, on Monday.
The hosts have hit nadir in both form and confidence, and, after a lop-sided 3-0 Test series victory, the script did not change much in the opening ODI, where India steamrolled the opposition by nine wickets.
India hammered Sri Lanka inside four days to win the 2nd Test in Nagpur on Monday. The hosts bundled out Sri Lanka for 166 shortly after fourth day's lunch to thump them by an innings and 239 runs, the margin equalling their triumph against Bangladesh in a 2007 Test in Dhaka. Here are the statistical highlights from the fourth day's play of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka in Nagpur.
Pacers Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Gamage have been added to the Sri Lankan squad ahead of the third Test against India starting in Pallekele on Saturday.
Ravindra Jadeja on Saturday became the second fastest Indian to reach 150 Test wickets, behind team-mate Ravichandran Ashwin, when he bowled Dhananjay de Silva during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
After resuming on 384-4, the hosts declared their first innings closed after lunch. Kurtis Patterson, in just his second Test innings, was unbeaten on 114 after posting his maiden century and captain Tim Paine was 45 not out.
Images from Day 1 in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Galle.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 1st Test between Australia and Sri Lanka on Thursday
A place in the final at stake, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would expect their batsmen to fire as they lock horns in a virtual semi-final of the Nidahas Twenty20 tri-series, in Colombo, on Friday.
An England record opening partnership of 256 between Alex Hales and Jason Roy led their side to a crushing 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second one-day international.
The biggest positive would be Hardik's inclusion and the way he shaped up in these three Test matches, said Virat Kohli.
India captain Virat Kohli does not mind if anger or aggression is channelised in the right direction which is what happened with a fiery Ishant Sharma after his altercation with Dhammika Prasad.
SLC said in a statement that it had received the warning from the Prime Minister's Office.
Sri Lanka's Thisara Perera has been fined 15 percent of his match fee and Australian Mitchell Starc was reprimanded by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for their behaviour during the second one-day international in Colombo.
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.
Kumar Sangakkara became only the second cricketer to hit a triple century and a hundred in the same Test as Sri Lanka set Bangladesh a huge target of 467 to win the second and final match in Chittagong on Friday. Sangakkara, who struck his maiden triple century in the first innings, hit a six off Sohag Gazi to reach three figures in the second and emulate former England opener Graham Gooch's 1990 feat against India at Lord's.
Opener Sam Robson hit his maiden Test century before Sri Lanka fought back with four late wickets on the second day of the second Test at Headingley, on Saturday.
India would look to continue their ruthless streak
Sri Lanka's Kaushal Silva roared back into form with a century in the final Test against Australia on Tuesday, boosting the hosts' hopes of a 3-0 sweep against the world number one team at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.
The Sri Lankan supporters and players present at the Galle International stadium gave a fitting farewell to Kumar Sangakkara.
Kusal Mendis led a strong Sri Lankan second innings effort but the West Indies still held the advantage at stumps on day four of the first Test at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on Saturday. Set a daunting target of 453 when the hosts declared their second innings at 223 for seven just after lunch, the visitors reached 176 for three by the close with Mendis unbeaten on 94.
Sri Lankan Kusal Mendis struck a majestic maiden century on day three of the first Test against Australia to leave the bowler-dominated contest evenly poised at Pallekele on Thursday.
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.
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