Not too intimidated by the prospect of a Chris Gayle onslaught, Sri Lankan coach Graham Ford said his bowlers have the plans in place to neutralise the threat posed by the marauding West Indian batsman in Sunday's World Twenty20 clash.
India gave themselves a boost before next month's Twenty20 World Cup at home as Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed four wickets in their series-clinching nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the third and final Twenty20 international on Sunday.
Virat Kohli remained the highest-placed Indian batsman at fourth even as Shikhar Dhawan rose a rung to sixth in the latest ICC ODI rankings.
South Africa's AB de Villiers and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara will take their battle for the coveted No 1 spot in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen to Sydney when they go head-to-head in the first quarter-final of the World Cup.
Trent Boult produced an economical spell of bowling to take three wickets and help New Zealand to a tense three-run win over Sri Lanka in their first Twenty20 international on Thursday.
The World Cup bound Pakistan team has been told to strictly avoid any discussion on religion, politics or India-Pakistan relations not only during their opening match against India, but also other games of the quadrennial mega-event.
Penpix of the Sri Lanka squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Virat Kohli (fourth), Shikhar Dhawan (seventh) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (ninth) have also maintained their respective positions in the ICC ODI batting chart.
Sri Lanka beat Australia off last ball to win first T20
Currently placed at number three behind South Africa and Australia, India have an opportunity to jump to the top in the ICC ODI team rankings if they win the upcoming five-match one-day series against Sri Lanka 4-1 or better.
Hobart Hurricanes produced a professional performance as they beat Barbados Tridents in convincing manner to enter the semi-finals of the Oppo Champions League T20, in Mohali.
After launching their campaign on a winning note, IPL finalists Kings XI Punjab will look to dish out another dominating performance when they face the formidable Barbados Tridents in a Group B match of the Oppo Champions League twenty20 in Mohali on Saturday.
As India and Sri Lanka get set to duel in the make-shift ODI series, starting Sunday, Rajneesh Gupta gives us a look at how both teams stand in One-dayers.
Sri Lanka, who won the last edition of the World T20 in 2014, have 21 wins from 31 matches in the six editions of the tournament, while India have 17 victories from 28 games. Check out the records of the previous five editions of the World T20.
Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne slammed unbeaten centuries to steer Sri Lanka to a convincing nine-wicket victory against England in the ICC World Cup.
Former India captain Rahul Dravid says the islanders may not be front-runners to win the World Cup this time around, but the fact that they are a very close-knit unit gives them the edge.
Shakib al Hasan has been handed one match suspension for abusing the on-field umpire
The 27-year-old batted five innings in the tournament, scoring a total of 273 at an average of 136.50 with a strike-rate of just under 147.
Rajneesh Gupta presents statistical summary of Royal Challengers Bangalore and much more.
It remains to be seen if reserve opener Ajinkya Rahane, the only player not to get a game in this series, would be included in place of Rohit Sharma or Shikhar Dhawan.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
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.
Kumar Sangakkara laid the foundation before Angelo Mathews completed a nervy chase as Sri Lanka beat England by six wickets in the fourth One-Day International.
Pakistan bowling came to the fore after Mohammad Hafeez's unbeaten fifty as they defeated World T20 defending champions Sri Lanka by 15 runs in their warmup match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday. Hafeez struck an unbeaten 70 from 49 balls to help Pakistan post 157/5 before they restricted Sri Lanka for 142/9 in front of a cheering crowd of more than 10,000. Sri Lanka were wayward with their bowling especially in the death overs and bowled eight wide balls, including five from Dushmantha Chamara, further helping Pakistan's cause.
Pleased with his fast bowlers show in the 169-runs win over Sri Lanka, skipper Virat Kohi said that it augurs well for the tours to Australia and New Zealand.
Images from the second T20 International between India and Sri Lanka in Ranchi.
Opener Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan slammed centuries to help India humiliate Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 169 runs in the first One-Day International in Cuttack, on Sunday.
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.
Colin Munro blasted New Zealand's fastest Twenty20 half century to surpass a mark set by Martin Guptill earlier in the innings as the hosts swept their two-match series against Sri Lanka with a nine-wicket win in Auckland on Sunday.
Brendon McCullum gave the cricket World Cup an explosive opening, scoring a blazing 65, as New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 98 runs on Saturday.
India will need to win at least a game in the upcoming one-dayer series against Australia to retain their current second position in the ICC ODI Team Championships, even as second-placed Virat Kohli looks to close in on AB de Villiers in the batting chart. World champions Australia go head to head with former winner India in a five-match series in Perth on Tuesday. Australia (127) lead second-ranked India (114) by 13 points and even if they lose all the five matches of the series, they will drop points but still finish a point ahead of India.
Clinical India notched up another resounding win to humble a hapless Sri Lankan side by six wickets and clinch the five-match series in the third One-Day International in Hyderabad.
It is time again to return to the shortest format of cricket as leading players, including India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, get ready to represent their respective franchises in the sixth edition of the Champions League T20.
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Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis combined for a 58-run partnership to give Sri Lanka a nervous four-wicket victory over Afghanistan in their World Cup Pool A match at University Oval in Dunedin on Sunday.
Lasith Malinga is fit for Sri Lanka's opening World Cup clash against New Zealand.
India's R Ashwin back in top-10 in ICC's ODI bowling rankings
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the first Test.
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.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews conceded that it will be 'very hard to beat India' in the ICC Champions Trophy Group B match in London, on Thursday.
Sri Lanka shot out the Netherlands for just 39 runs, the lowest ever Twenty20 International total, before winning the Super 10 match in the World Twenty20 by nine wickets, in Chittagong, on Monday.
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