IMAGES from the Day 4 of the 1st Test between England and Sri Lanka in Manchester on Saturday
Victory for South Africa followed Test success over West Indies in Guyana in August and Bangladesh in a two-Test series in October.
Wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal and spinner Ajantha Mendis were left out of the Sri Lanka squad of 15 for the two-Ttest series against Pakistan, starting at Galle next week. Chandimal lost his place to Niroshan Dickwella, who made his Test debut in the second Test against South Africa in Colombo last week and scored a half-century.
Walking out with intent and flair, the wicketkeeper-batter smashed a quickfire 51 off just 56 deliveries in the morning session, propelling England to a strong 387.
Bangladesh lost four wickets in the final session to slump to 214 for five on day two of their second and final Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal has been suspended from for the third and final Test against the West Indies after he was found guilty of ball tampering during the second day's play of the second Test.
Kumar Sangakkara continued his purple patch against Bangladesh and hit an unbeaten 127 to guide Sri Lanka to 294 for six at close on the second day of the second and final Test on Sunday.
Dinesh Chandimal will captain Sri Lanka in the T20 series against New Zealand in place of regular captain Lasith Malinga who has been forced out due to an injury, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said on Tuesday.
Senior Sri Lankan batsman Dinesh Chandimal admitted that his side cannot always use 'transition phase' as an excuse for the team not doing well in recent times. Ahead of their World T20 cricket match against England on Saturday, Chandimal blamed on "inexperience of middle-order" for their inconsistent performances of late but he added that players need to "put their hands up and perform". "You cannot always say transition. We need to put our hands up. We will give our best shot in the next game," Chandimal said when asked whether a team comprising of Tillakaratne Dilshan, him, Chamara Kapugedara, Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera can be termed as inexperienced.
Dinesh Chandimal stroked an unbeaten 105 to help Sri Lanka to a convincing six-wicket win over England at Lord's on Sunday as the tourists took a 2-1 lead in the one-day series.
Photos from Day 3 of the first Test played in Galle on Friday.
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.
Spinner Prabath Jayasuriya led the charge with a five-wicket haul as Bangladesh collapsed for just 133 in their second innings, handing Sri Lanka a win by an innings and 78 runs.
Australia, who have already secured their place in the final of the World Test Championship against South Africa, won the opening Test, also in Galle, by an innings and 242 runs.
Sri Lanka have called up uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal in their 15-man squad for next month's Twenty20 World Cup. The highly-rated 20-year-old was included in the squad named by selectors on Wednesday after scoring 320 runs at an average of 53.33 in Sri Lanka's domestic T20 league.
Binura Fernando and Kasun Rajitha, who were named in the original squad, will not tour owing to injuries sustained during the SLC Invitational T20 League 2022.
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.
The Sri Lankan skipper had stunned everyone last month when he revealed that he had received a special blessing from a meyni ahead of their surprise series sweep against Pakistan in the UAE.
Spin twins Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon combined to dismantle Sri Lanka and bowl Australia to a crushing victory by an innings and 242 runs in the opening Test in Galle on Saturday.
The result was the first drawn game in Galle for 12 years.
Jamie Smith's maiden Test century helped England take a 122-run lead on Day 3 in the first Test against Sri Lanka
India were set a tricky target of 176 runs to win the first Test against Sri Lanka after Dinesh Chandimal produced a counter-attacking unbeaten 162 to lead a spirited fightback for the hosts in Galle.
Kusal Mendis' battling half-century salvaged a difficult day one for Sri Lanka as they reached 229/9 in the second Test.
Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne obstinately defied New Zealand's bowlers for much of the second day of the first Test at University Oval in Dunedin on Friday though the hosts still have the upper hand.
A disappointed Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal said not playing well in the Power Play overs cost his inexperienced side the Twenty20 series against India.
De Silva and veteran Angelo Mathews were not included in the 16-man T20 squad but there was a place for Hasaranga.
Steven Smith and Shaun Marsh scored unbeaten half-centuries to launch a strong response from Australia after Dinesh Chandimal's patient hundred pushed Sri Lanka's first-innings total to 355 on the second day of the third and final Test on Sunday.
Sri Lanka batsman Dinesh Chandimal has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup due to a hamstring injury and replaced in the squad by Kusal Perera.
Kamindu Mendis maintained his red-hot form and struck a majestic 114 to power Sri Lanka to 302/7 on the opening day of the first Test.
Batsman Chandimal suffered a tear in his groin on day one of the first Test in Galle and is also a doubt for the final Test in Colombo, which begins on November 23.
Smith's unbeaten 120 is his second successive hundred of the series while Carey made a career-best 139 not out hitting 22 fours and three sixes between them.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2nd Test between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, on Sunday.
New Zealand captain Tim Southee said playing two Tests at Galle, known as a spinner's paradise, was always going to be challenging.
With Sri Lanka's cricket team performing better under Sanath Jayasuriya, he is all set to get a contract extension.
Australia's Usman Khawaja struck a maiden double hundred and Josh Inglis got a century on his Test debut against Sri Lanka to power the tourists to a mammoth 654/6.
Dinesh Chandimal was named skipper of Sri Lanka's Test team on Wednesday, while fellow batsman Upul Tharanga has been tasked with leading the limited-overs squads after Angelo Mathews relinquished the captaincy across all formats a day earlier.
Dimuth Karunaratne's Test career ended in a whimper as Sri Lanka's most prolific Test opener fell caught behind to Kuhnemann after making 14.
South Africa require five wickets and Sri Lanka need 143 runs as the second Test heads for a potentially exciting conclusion
Steve Smith became the 15th member of Test cricket's 10,000-run club as he and opener Usman Khawaja smashed hundreds to help Australia rack up 330/2 on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews was on Wednesday dropped from their limited-overs squad to face England next month, two days after the country's cricket board asked him to relinquish his captaincy in the shorter formats of the game.
