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.
The 24-year-old made an impression, especially with the ball, when India went to Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series last July, with a three-for in the second ODI and seven wickets -- including a 4 for 9 -- to top the bowling charts in the three T20Is.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from the day's proceedings.
India continued to be at the top in the ICC Test rankings but Australia slipped one rung to fifth in the latest list after drawing the away series against Bangladesh on Thursday.
These eight images prove it's an odd, odd world!
India, along with some other members, objected to the proposal and due to lack of consensus or concurrence, the meet has been cancelled.
In an extraordinary twist to the game, India on Saturday capitulated to an embarassing 63-run defeat in the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka.
Priyantha Kumara, the Sri Lankan national, who was lynched by a mob in Pakistan's Punjab province on December 3 over allegations of blasphemy, was buried according to Buddhist and Catholic rites at Ganemulla, a suburb north of Colombo, on Wednesday, December 8.
'(And) we've got a fourth guy who's a regular opener for India who's not fit (Vijay). We've got all four openers firing now. Shikhar was supposed to go (home) to Melbourne, now he's got a 190 in Galle. So, anything can happen in life'
Relieved after notching up his first hundred in close to two years, Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara thanked A team coach Rahul Dravid for reassuring him that there was "nothing wrong" with his technique during the prolonged lean patch.
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.
A Sri Lankan parliamentarian of the ruling party of the Rajapaksas and his personal security officer were killed on Monday in clashes between anti- and pro-government protesters in the country.
A delegation from former president Maithripala Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party met him in the morning to press for their demand on the formation of the interim government.
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new premier. Sirisena's move has triggered a constitutional crisis in the country. Here are some points about the unfolding crisis and the role of key players:
'Deepak Chahar was rejected by Greg Chappell at RCA for his height'
Ishan Kishan became the first India batsman to score fifties on debut in both T20Is and ODIs.
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.
The Indian team has drawn praise from former cricket greats after regaining the No.1 ranking in Tests following a thumping 3-0 victory in the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand. Legendary Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya on Wednesday hailed Team India and captain Virat Kohli for their splendid performances in the last few months.
On Sunday evening, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, both in India for the respective assignments in the Indian Premier League, posted messages about the crisis in their native Sri Lanka on social media and invited criticism for playing it safe.
Arjuna Ranatunga was arrested on Monday for the first violent incident amidst the on going political crisis in the country.
The two fast bowlers were added to the 15-member Indian ODI team, while fellow pacer Mohammed Shami was given a break.
This is the first appointment made by President Wickremesinghe on his first day in office.
Sri Lanka batsman Dinesh Chandimal has been ruled out of the remaining two matches in the One-Day International series against India after fracturing his thumb in the third ODI.
Sri Lanka on Wednesday declared a state of emergency after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on a military jet in the face of a public revolt against his government for mishandling the country's economy.
England were reeling at 89-4 when Buttler somewhat steadied the innings before Curran clobbered six sixes in his blistering 64 to help them to a competitive score.
Kishan was also a prominent member for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
A nagging hamstring problem has kept Mathews out of international cricket since January but the all-rounder, who turns 30 on Friday, was declared fit ahead of the team's departure to the United Kingdom.
South Africa paceman Vernon Philander will miss the first two Tests against England because of injury, team officials said as the squad returned from their 3-0 hiding in India.
'It was quite an exciting game of cricket, fans and players must have been entertained'
Indian batsmen have done their homework and will not allow Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath to wreck them again at Galle, captain Virat Kohli said on the eve of the first Test between the neighbours on Tuesday.
Sourav Ganguly has praised the team's series victory in Sri Lanka especially after losing the first Test.
Test skipper Virat Kohli refuses to be drawn into the brouhaha surrounding the new-found aggressive approach of Team India.
Earlier in the day, the International Cricket Council (ICC) inducted three retired greats of the game namely South Africa's Jacques Kallis, Sthalekar, and Pakistan's Zaheer Abbas, into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
India gained an upperhand in the second Test against Sri Lanka by taking a handy 87-run first innings lead despite a fighting century by rival skipper Angelo Mathews in Colombo on Saturday.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane hit unbeaten centuries to power India to 344 for three against Sri Lanka on Day 1 of the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, on Thursday.
A dominant India on Saturday outclassed an injury-ravaged and out-of-sorts Sri Lanka by 304 runs in the opening Test to bury the ghosts of a humilating loss at the same venue, exactly two years ago.
Ravichandran Ashwin produced another magical spell to scalp five wickets as India notched up a series-levelling 278-run victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka, denying the legendary Kumar Sangakkara a fairytale farewell from the game.
Sri Lanka's state-owned petroleum corporation announced fuel rationing for vehicles with effect from Friday, as an unprecedented economic crisis roils the country.
India skipper Virat Kohli stoutly defended his five-bowler strategy, saying the blame lays with the batsmen who failed to deliver while chasing 176-odd runs in the first Test in Galle.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances