A superb all-round show by J P Duminy earned South Africa a 12-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 international in Colombo on Friday. The tourists, after putting up a modest 115-6 after electing to bat, restricted Sri Lanka at 103-9 at the Premadasa stadium.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin spun a web around Sri Lankan batsmen with a six-wicket haul as India dismissed the hosts for a paltry 183 in the first innings to gain the upperhand on the opening day of the first Test in Galle on Wednesday.
Penpix of the Sri Lanka squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
A Delhiite himself, Shikhar Dhawan was on Tuesday candid in his admission that the city's air quality is poor, but insisted that it cannot come in the way of going about their job of playing as professional cricketers.
'If 20,000 people in the stands did not have problem and the Indian team did not face any issue, I wonder why Sri Lankan team made a big fuss. I will need to talk to the secretary and ask him to write to the Sri Lanka Cricket'
Some strong performances with the bat will help Joe Root to surge to the top and then potentially strengthen his position in the four-Test series against Pakistan, which begins on 14 July.
England skipper Eoin Morgan would like to believe his team peaked at the right time at the ongoing World Twenty20 while New Zealand were slightly premature going into Wednesday's semi-final at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. Kane Williamson and his Kiwi team mates have not put a foot wrong since landing in India, winning all four group matches without really breaking a sweat to qualify for the semi-finals as the tournament's only unbeaten team. For a side boasting an explosive batting order and a balanced attack to go with, England's passage proved bumpier. Even before they could soak in the atmosphere, England were blown away by a Chris Gayle century in their tournament opener against West Indies in Mumbai.
India have won the first two Tests by comprehensive margins -- by 304 runs in Galle and an innings and 53 runs in Colombo.
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.
'I need rest. My body has taken a toll in the last couple of years. Right now is the perfect time to rest before the tour of South Africa'
Chris Gayle blasted a quickfire century to power West Indies to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tri-nation series in Jamaica, on Friday.
The hosts, who put up their best batting show in the series so far were all-out for 386 in the second innings despite twin centuries from opener Dimuth Karunaratne (141) and No 3 Kusal Mendis (110).
India return to place from where journey to glory began.
The Indian captain scored a majestic 213 -- his 19th hundred, en route which he broke a plethora of records in the company of Rohit Sharma (102 no), who got a Test ton after four long years.
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.
With Shikar Dhawan back in the squad, it is indeed a happy problem for skipper Virat Kohli, who has to choose two quality openers among three.
Pujara and Vijay added 209 runs for the second wicket to set a platform from where India would look to bat the Islanders out of the contest.
India, resuming the day at 344 for three, went on to declare at 622 for nine post tea, thanks to half centuries from Ravichandran Ashwin (54 off 92), Wriddhiman Saha (67 off 134) and Ravindra Jadeja (70 not out off 85).
Pakistan will meet Group A toppers England in the first semi-final on Wednesday at the same venue.
Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews has blamed his batsmen for the heavy defeat in the second Test against India in Colombo, saying they lost the game with their first innings batting.
Considered one of the greatest finishers in 50-overs cricket, Dhoni will join India's elite 'Club 300', which has Sachin Tendulkar (463), Rahul Dravid (344), Mohammed Azharuddin (334), Sourav Ganguly (311) and Yuvraj Singh (304).
After being bowled out for a paltry 183 in the first innings losing as many as eight wickets in a single session, No 3 Mendis (110 off 135 balls) and opener Karunaratne (92 batting, 200 balls) added 191 as the visitors could get only two wickets in the next two sessions.
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.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji check out how Team India fared on the Sri Lanka tour and find out which cricketers were truly valuable to the team.
Their frailties against quality spin attack badly exposed in Sri Lanka recently, pace bowling great Glenn McGrath said that the Australians will have to quickly sort out their issues against slow bowlers if they don't want a disaster in their tour of India to play four Tests in February-March next year. "Especially with the way things went in Sri Lanka on turning wickets, they have got a lot of work to do between now and then. The Aussies will find it tough in India unless they turn things around pretty quickly," McGrath told reporters during a promotional event.
The Indian team's batting woes continued as they lost their opening warm-up tie of the ICC World T20 against Sri Lanka by five runs in Dhaka on Monday.
Anderson becomes number-one ranked Test bowler
'It's Test cricket and (Shannon) is an emotional guy trying to do everything he can to win a Test match. Sometimes people say things on the field that they might regret'
Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmdullah finished as the MVP in the recently-concluded Asia Cup T20 tournament ahead of compatriot Sabbir Rahman, who was named as the man of the series. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present the latest edition of the MVP rankings.
Injuries to key players such as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma is giving them the jitters but India would still be firm favourites when they take on a depleted and struggling Sri Lanka in their penultimate league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament, in Mirpur, on Tuesday.
Statistical highlights of the one-off Twenty20 international between India and England at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday.
India goes into the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday hoping to register their first series victory in the island nation in 22 years.
While India have been busy with their preparations in Sri Lanka, focus among the locals is slowly shifting to their heroic batsman Kumar Sangakkara.
Sri Lanka won the just-concluded Asia Cup, but none of their players figure in Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji's most valuable player index. Check it out.
Satisfied with England's campaign in the ICC World Twenty20 so far, captain Eoin Morgan said every player in the side has showcased versatility during the tournament, making the side a "powerful" unit heading into Wednesday's semi-final against New Zealand.
Lasith Malinga's brilliant five-wicket haul under pressure and opener Lahiru Thirimanne's second ODI century helped Sri Lanka script a thrilling 12-run win over Pakistan in a nail-biting opening match of the Asia Cup at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, in Fatullah, on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka are never anybody's pre-tournament favourites but when the dust settles there they are.
Virat Kohli batted continuously for over a day in Delhi and showed no signs of fatigue caused by the pollution, marvels Dhruv Munjal.
Featuring Gayle, Kohli, Root, Dilshan and Butler.
Rain threatens to disrupt the first day's play when Sri Lanka and India face-off in the opening Test at Galle on Wednesday.
