David Miller's late cameo saw South Africa stage a late comeback to outclass Sri Lanka by four wickets in the Super 12 match at the T20 World Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
South Africa bowled poorly in the first hour, but still managed to reduce the visitors to 54 for three as Sri Lanka gave their wickets away with injudicious stroke-play.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be hoping for a memorable farewell but he faces a major roadblock in the form of Gujarat Titans' run machine Shubman Gill.
For all those who are likely to get a game, there will be just one target -- to make most of their chances as some of them might not get too many with just about 16 months left for the 50-overs World Cup.
IMAGES from the 1st T20I played between India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday
A livid India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday took a dig at the pitch prepared for the first T20 International terming it an "English" rather than Indian track. Indian batsmen were all at sea against the seam and bounce extracted by rookie Sri Lanka pacers to get all-out for 101 in 18.5 overs thereby losing the match by five wickets. "The wicket was completely different to what we have been playing in the last one month (in Australia). It was more like an English wicket. There was spongy bounce, and variable pace. The wicket was also not rolled properly. Looking at the wicket, we should not have played a few big shots that we played," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony. Asked if it was difficult to adjust to the Indian conditions after playing a month in Australia, Dhoni's sarcastic reply was: "It was more English conditions than Indian conditions."
Images from the Asia Cup final between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai on Sunday.
Captain Virat Kohli's blazing blade ensured a comfortable seven-wicket victory in the one-off Twenty20 International as the visitors completed a 9-0 rout of Sri Lanka across all three formats, in Colombo, on Wednesday.
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.
Sri Lankan cricketer Dasun Shanaka revisited the Easter Sunday horror, the serial blasts that took place in the country on Sunday, leaving almost 300 people dead and more than 500 injured.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh can beat each other on their day
The Sri Lankan team, which arrived hours after a delegation of its security experts had checked in, was taken directly from the old Karachi airport tarmac to the VIP lounge amid heavy security.
The 16 skippers made history, coming together in Melbourne for the first time at a T20 World Cup.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest bowler to reach the milestone of 300 Test wickets in his 54th match, breaking Dennis Lillee's record during India's win over Sri Lanka in the second Test, in Nagpur on Monday.
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.
Full list of players released, retained and traded by all ten teams in the IPL.
Sri Lanka defeated India by five wickets in the first Twenty20 international cricket match to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, in Pune on Tuesday. Chasing a modest target of 102 runs set by India, Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal led from the front scoring 35 runs off as many balls, while Milinda Sriwardana's unbeaten 21 runs off 14 balls ensured a comparatively young visiting squad secured a morale-boosting victory.
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.
A ruthless India equalled their biggest victory margin, decimating a lacklustre Sri Lanka by an innings and 239 runs in the second Test to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the Most Valuable Players in the Sri Lanka-India ODI series.
Sri Lanka beat India by four wickets to draw level in the three-match series.
Bowlers gave India the upper hand as Sri Lanka were bowled out for a below-par 205 in their first innings against India after opting to bat on the first day of the second Test in Nagpur on Friday.
Boosted by their 3-0 clean sweep of Australia Down Under, a confident India would seek to continue their winning momentum when they take on a depleted and new-look Sri Lanka in the first of three T20 Internationals, in Pune, on Tuesday.
A dominant Indian team is expected to maintain its stranglehold on a miserable Sri Lanka and wrap up the three-match series when the two mismatched teams face off in the second Twenty20 International in Indore on Friday.
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.
India's captain Virat Kohli staved off the threat of defeat before their fast bowlers ensured the hosts finished on a high in the drawn opening Test against Sri Lanka in an enthralling final day at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
The rain is caused by a depression that is likely to clear out tomorrow and Sridhar said a result was very much on the cards if they have three full days.
High on confidence after their emphatic victory over England, the West Indies will once again look for an explosive knock from Chris Gayle to inch closer to a semi-final berth when they take on defending champions Sri Lanka in a World Twenty20 Super 10 Group 1 match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Lost in transition, defending champions Sri Lanka will look to come out of the rut and start well against a spirited Afghanistan in their World Twenty20 Super 10 opener at Eden Gardens on Thursday. The defending champions, who were also runners-up in 2009 and 2012, have managed to win only four of their 14 matches since they beat India to win the 2014 edition in Mirpur. They are in the middle of a transition phase after Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene's exit. The build-up to the tournament was also forgettable with series defeats in New Zealand and India followed by an early ouster in Asia Cup. To add to the misery, their 2014 WT20 winning skipper Lasith Malinga has stepped down as leader of the team, following concern over his slow recovery from a knee injury. Now Test and ODI skipper Angelo Mathews' task is cutout. Having joined the squad on Tuesday, Malinga is a doubtful starter for the match. His presence in the team would impact the team a lot.
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.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between England and Sri Lanka, in Sharjah, on Monday.
India are most likely to field only one spinner in the Test matches in South Africa but left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja is not worried about fighting for that lone spot with team-mate Ravichandran Ashwin.
Colin Munro and Corey Anderson blasted quickfire half-centuries to power New Zealand to a convincing victory against Sri Lanka in the warm-up match of the ICC World Twenty20, at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Thursday.
With Shikhar Dhawan back in form in the shortest format, the Indian team management and captain Virat Kohli will have the headache of picking from three in-form openers
It all starts in Guwahati on Sunday as the biggest city in Assam is slowly getting back to normalcy after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Mushfiqur Rahim's superb hundred complemented by a collective effort from the bowlers saw Bangladesh thrash Sri Lanka by 137 runs despite Lasith Malinga's brilliant international comeback in the Asia Cup opener, in Dubai, on Saturday.
Images from the T20 World Cup match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, in Sharjah, on Sunday.
South Africa have slipped to number six in the world, behind fifth-placed Sri Lanka, and have a host of questions to answer, not least around a brittle top six and the balance of the side.
It was far from dominating batting show after the inspiring show by their young bowlers but India managed to outclass Sri Lanka by five wickets and complete a 3-0 series whitewash, in the third T20 International in Mumbai on Sunday.
Images from the third One-Day International between India and Sri Lanka, in Colombo, on Friday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances