Ben Foakes marked his Test debut with a century and impressed with his glovework, too, as England bowled out Sri Lanka for 203 before stretching their lead to 177 runs on the second day of the opening Test in Galle.
Captain Eoin Morgan smashed his second half-century in two games and Adil Rashid took four wickets to help England crush Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the rain-marred third One-Day International on Wednesday.
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.
Sri Lanka suffered a fresh blow due to injury after pace spearhead Nuwan Pradeep was ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing Test series against India in Colombo on Friday.
Australia edged out Sri Lanka by two wickets to spoil Tillakaratne Dilshan's one-day farewell and go 2-1 up in the five-match series on Sunday. Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka were all out for 226 with four balls remaining, a total built around Dinesh Chandimal's gutsy 102 in an otherwise poor batting display by the hosts in the third match of the series. Dilshan's fluent 42 in his one-day swansong was the second highest score and the former Sri Lanka captain quit the format with 10,290 runs, including 22 centuries from 330 matches.
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.
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.
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.
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.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh can beat each other on their day
Mathews missed the one-day series in South Africa, the tour of Australia and the home series against Bangladesh with a hamstring injury but is back in action for his Delhi franchise in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
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.
Images from Day 4 in the third and final Test between Sri Lanka and India, in Colombo, on Monday
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.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal also acknowledged Mendis and Mathews had saved the game for his side, who were dominated by New Zealand over the first three days.
Glenn Maxwell equalled the fastest fifty by an Australian in Twenty20 internationals as the tourists clinched a four-wicket win against Sri Lanka on Friday that secured a 2-0 series victory.
When India lost the Wellington Test by 10 wickets, was it the worst defeat for Virat Kohli's team? Rajneesh Gupta has the answers.
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.
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.
Sri Lanka all-rounder and former skipper Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi next week with a calf injury, but the uncapped Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva and Lahiru Gamage are in the squad.
Sri Lanka's long-suffering fans saw a sliver of hope when Dinesh Chandimal and his men blanked Pakistan 2-0 in the United Arab Emirates in October before embarking on their bid to win a maiden Test on Indian soil.
The biggest positive would be Hardik's inclusion and the way he shaped up in these three Test matches, said Virat Kohli.
As India take on Sri Lanka in a three Test series, Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers.
Root said that spinning tracks will throw challenges to the visiting team but they are adapting to the conditions quickly.
Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 30 runs in the first Twenty20 International on Monday to go 1-0 up in the two-match series and extend the visitors' losing streak.
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.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin weaved his magic with a career-best four-wicket haul as India thrashed Sri Lanka by nine wickets in the deciding third and final Twenty20 International, to clinch the three-match series 2-1, in Visakhapatnam, on Sunday.
Fast bowler Mitchell Starc picked up his second five-wicket haul in the match to lead Australia to a comprehensive 366-run victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka and a 2-0 series win.
Kohli promoting Pandya ahead of Dhoni is an indication that the skipper is looking to use his former captain more as an accumulator -- in Javed Miandad mould who would rotate strike, frustrate bowlers and launch a furious counter-attack after getting his eye in.
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.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne frustrated West Indies with a patient unbeaten century to help Sri Lanka reach 250-2 on the opening day and stay on course for a big first innings total in the first Test at Galle on Wednesday.
It may be Kumar Sangakkara's farewell game but the Indian team is all focused on previous match's centurion Dinesh Chandimal with leg-spinner Amit Mishra vowing not to allow a repeat show by the Sri Lanka batman in the second Test, starting in Colombo on Wednesday.
The veteran left-hander was unbeaten on 160 as Sri Lanka reached the close of play on 314 for five after captain Angelo Mathews had won the toss and opted to bat.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continued to be the best-placed Indians in the batting chart, while off-spinner Ravichandra Ashwin held on to second spot among bowlers in the latest ICC Test Player ranking, release on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Lakshan Sandakan took four wickets on his debut in a three-wicket victory over new-look South Africa that levelled the three-match Twenty20 series on Sunday.
India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 239 runs in the second Test in Nagpur after the touring side were bundled out for 166 shortly after lunch on the fourth day.
India are in sight of their first series triumph on Sri Lankan soil in 22 years, having reduced the hosts to 67 for 3 after setting them a daunting target of 386 in the third and final Test in Colombo on Friday.
The Virat Kohli-led team must take inspiration from the last trip to Sri Lanka, in 2010, when India beat Sri Lanka by five wickets, thanks to hundreds from Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman.
Sri Lanka have included pace spearhead Lasith Malinga in their 15-man squad for the Cricket World Cup despite concerns over his fitness after ankle surgery, the country's cricket board said on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews led by example, hitting an unbeaten 77 to help his team overcome a top order wobble and take a 291-run lead against Pakistan at the end of the third day's play in the third and final Test at Pallekele on Sunday.
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