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.
The players of which country had the best IPL 2023? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji find out.
Buoyed by an overwhelming victory in the previous game, a resilient India would look to continue the momentum and seal off their second successive T20 series win when they take on Sri Lanka in the third and final Twenty20 International, in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. India shrugged off their embarrassing defeat in opening T20 match in Pune with a commanding show in Ranchi, where they outclassed the island nation by 69 runs to level the series. The Indian batsmen had struggled to cope with the 'green' track in Pune but adjusted well on a slow strip at Ranchi, where they did not put a foot wrong. The bowlers, too, were in complete control, never letting the Sri Lankan batsmen dominate. Moreover, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy was impressive and all his experiments, be it reshuffling of the batting order or bowling tactics, paid off. India not only mastered the conditions but also executed their plans to perfection.
The visitors never got going as spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (4/67) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/56) along with comeback-man Ishant Sharma (3/37) shared the spoils.
Defending champions Gujarat Titans will be eyeing a hat-trick of victories, while Kolkata Knight Riders, fresh from their decimation of Royal Challengers Bangalore, will be keen to show that win was not a flash in the pan when the two sides clash in the IPL in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Pakistan to allow vaccinated spectators to attend NZ series.
After a solid start by Buttler and Alex Hales, England batters lost the plot with half the side back in the dugout, largely due to mystery spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, before Stokes took the former champions over the line.
India look to snap five-year trophy-less streak against Theekshana-less Lanka
Sri Lanka registered a 35-run victory over Pakistan in the second T20I
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.
Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood minced no words in admitting that any team in the world would want a rampaging bowling attack like India.
England face fellow strugglers Sri Lanka in a must-win World Cup match on Thursday.
Virat Kohli was the only centurion in the tournament.
Playing IPL 2023's last league stage match, Royal Challengers Bangalore would know what exactly is required of them to qualify for the play-offs, when they face table-toppers Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Former champions Sri Lanka will look to exploit Australia's top-order woes when they clash in a group 1 Super 12 match of the ICC T20 World Cup here on Thursday.
A patient half-century by opening batsman Hashim Amla guided South Africa to a consolation 8-wicket victory over struggling Sri Lanka in the Group A encounter at New Delhi on Monday. Chasing a modest target of 121 runs, Amla scored 56 runs off 52 balls to help his team chase down the target with 14 balls remaining. Skipper Faf du Plessis also scored 32 runs off 36 balls, while AB de Villiers hit a brisk 20 off 12 balls.
Already qualified for the Super 12s, Sri Lanka thrashed Netherlands by eight wickets in their final T20 World Cup first round match with the spin duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana bamboozling the opposition batters here on Friday.
IMAGES from the ICC World Cup match played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
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:
A series clean sweep in sight, the Indian team is unlikely to tinker with its batting line-up tough skipper Rohit Sharma could be tempted to look at some of his bowling options during the final ODI against Sri Lanka, in Thiruvananthapuram, on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians will look to address their poor death over bowling when they take on a resurgent Gujarat Titans.
The Sri Lankan cricket team, led by veteran pacer Lasith Malinga, arrived in Guwahati on Thursday for the three-match T20 series against India amid tight security after the city witnessed widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The Sri Lankan team headed straight to the team hotel amid a thick security cover. The members of the Indian team are expected to arrive in batches on Friday for the series opener on Sunday.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan (94) and KL Rahul (73) restored India's dominance with fluent half-centuries as the hosts erased a 122-run lead to nose ahead in the opening cricket Test against Sri Lanka, in Kolkata on Sunday.
Titans look to forget Rinku Singh's onslaught against Punjab Kings
Pakistan government pledged the same level of security to Sri Lankan cricketers as is provided to visiting heads of state.
Defending champions West Indies will be desperate to address their batting woes and keep their slim semi-final hopes alive when they take on an inexperienced Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup on Thursday.
"Now captaincy on the field can be a different thing. To read moments, win moments and strategize, you have to be sharp, and I think Hardik has all ingredients to be a good captain.
IMAGES from the IPL 2023, Qualifier 1 match played between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans in Chennai on Tuesday.
The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 stage is set as all 10 captains gathered on Wednesday at the world's largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad on the eve of the biggest Cricket World Cup ever.
Sri Lanka trounced top-ranked Pakistan 3-0 after a 13-run victory in the third and final Twenty20, in front of 27,000 fans at the Gaddafi Stadium, in Lahore, on Wednesday. Needing 54 runs off the last five overs, with eight wickets in hand, Pakistan again stumbled in its run-chase for the third successive time in the series and were restricted to 134-6.
A century opening stand between Abid Ali and Fakhar Zaman guided Pakistan to a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the third and final One-Day International in Karachi on Wednesday. The victory enabled the hosts clinch the series 2-0.
England fast bowler James Anderson took five wickets to inspire the hosts to a crushing victory over Sri Lanka by an innings and 88 runs in the first Test in Leeds on Saturday.
GT (10 points from seven matches) have been a well-oiled unit and looks set for a successive play-off berth, sitting behind leaders Rajasthan Royals on net run-rate with a match in hand.
The young pace bowling unit will look to pick up pieces from the hammering they suffered in the second T20 against Sri Lanka in the series-deciding third and final match in Rajkot on Saturday.
Deepak Chahar, India's unexpected hero with the bat in the second ODI against Sri Lanka, in Colombo on Tuesday, says coach Rahul Dravid's belief in his batting inspired him to produce a match-winning knock.
History is on Hardik Pandya's side, which has won all three games against the Royals so far, and that would certainly play on the minds of the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan outfit at the Narendra Modi stadium.
Gill will not like to repeat the mistakes of his predecessors while aiming to cement his place in the T20I side after making a reputation for himself in the longer versions.
Hardik Pandya will be expected to begin his full-time T20 captaincy tenure on a bold note as the Indian team prepares to start its life beyond Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.
England seamers Sam Curran and David Willey shared nine wickets to set up a crushing eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Thursday as the hosts chased down 241 with seven overs to spare to go 2-0 up in the three-match one-day international series.
The inaugural edition of the CSA T20 League is scheduled to be played in January-February 2023 and all the six franchises in the tournament have been acquired by current IPL team owners.
