Knowing their weakness against spin, all-rounder Faf dU Plessis said that South Africa are wary of slow and spinning tracks for the upcoming Test matches against India.
Virat Kohli (76 batting) and Abhinav Mukund (81) put on 133 runs for the third wicket as India reached 189 for three in 46.3 overs at stumps on a rain-affected day three.
Bowlers put their foot on the pedal after a flamboyant innings from debutant Hardik Pandya enabling India to be in firm control of the proceedings in the first Test against Sri Lanka, in Galle.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal has pleaded not guilty to ball-tampering charges, prompting a hearing into the episode after the conclusion of the ongoing second Test against West Indies, the International Cricket Council said.
Sri Lanka's main Opposition parties on Sunday agreed to form an all-party interim government after the anticipated resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday, following unprecedented political turmoil that forced him and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to offer their resignations over the mishandling of the nation's crippling economic crisis.
Several people succumbed to their injuries sustained in the blasts, taking the death toll to 359.
An unbeaten century from opener Martin Guptill eased New Zealand to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over South Africa in the second One-Day International at Senwes Park on Sunday.
Back-to-back half-centuries against Sri Lanka were just the confidence-booster Wriddhiman Saha needed as he slowly recovers from a hamstring injury that prevented him from playing in the third Test of the just concluded series.
Chasing a daunting target of 386, the hosts collapsed after skipper Angelo Mathews was dismissed for 110, his seventh Test century, and were dismissed for 268.
Opener Lokesh Rahul scored a fighting century as India recovered from early jitters to post 319 for six in their first innings on Day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka, in Colombo, on Thursday.
Former India players Pragyan Ojha and Ashok Dinda were on Saturday involved in an ugly feud ahead of Bengal's Ranji Trophy group league encounter against Tamil Nadu in Rajkot and both nearly came to exchanging blows during the training session. Both players are important in Bengal's scheme of things and the team management, which includes skipper Manoj Tiwary, coach Sairaj Bahutule and manager Sameer Dasgupta, spoke to them and conveyed that this behaviour was unexpected.
England also named their final one-day squad before the World Cup, with fast bowlers Tom Curran and David Willey returning to a unit who defeated Sri Lanka 3-1. Tom replaces brother Sam as Liam Dawson and Olly Stone also miss out.
Despite being left out of the central contracts of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB),`out-of-favour` off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is hoping to revive his international career through 'one last chance' to prove his worth. Having notched up a total of 178 wickets in 35 Tests, Ajmal was ranked as the number one bowler in ODIs and was also very impressive in the longest format of the game before being suspended for exceeding the 15-degree elbow flex limit set by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in September 2014.
Earlier, resuming on 3-0 and with an overall lead of 99, England lost Keaton Jennings leg before wicket for one off the first delivery of the day from Dilruwan Perera (5-88), which seemed to unhinge their top order.
Jonny Bairstow, restored to the England side but shorn of his keeping gloves, celebrated his return with a sparkling 110 to help them to 312 for seven on the opening day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka on Friday.
Joe Root's third hundred powered England to a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the fifth One-day international in Pallekele on Thursday and kept alive their hopes in the seven-match series. After rain forced play to be suspended on Wednesday, the visitors returned to chase down a 240-run victory target and won with five balls to spare.
Sirisena dissolved Parliament hours after a close aide of the President said that there will be no snap elections or a national referendum to end the current crises.
Having taken a handy 139-run first-innings lead, England declared their second innings on 322 for six to set Sri Lanka an improbable 462-run victory target.
At the peak of Mahela Jayawardene's career, international cricket was flooded with world-class bowlers, something many feel is not the case now.
Ahead of the high-octane clash, here are some key players to look out for:
Former captain Mahela Jayawardene hit a classy unbeaten century to help Sri Lanka close on 305 for five on the first day of the second Test against South Africa in Colombo on Thursday. In a chanceless six hours at the crease, Jayawardene finished on 140 not out off 225 balls, including one six and 16 fours, to give Sri Lanka a solid start in their bid to level the two-match series.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday met Sri Lanka's top leadership and discussed a host of issues, including the debt crisis faced by the island nation, investments, promoting tourism and the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as the two countries marked the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
JP Duminy scored his fourth Test century and his first in the subcontinent to steer South Africa to a first innings total of 455 for nine wickets declared on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
At least 71 people have been killed and 127 others were still missing in floods and landslides triggered by the heaviest rains in Sri Lanka in over a quarter century even as an Indian aircraft and two naval ships arrived in Colombo on Saturday with relief supplies.
During the 13-minute special session, Dhammika Dassanayake, ecretary general of Parliament, announced the vacancy for the post of president.
'When both teams play with equal intensity, the matches will be very close and so will the series'
'Playing spin, even from Zimbabwe series we couldn't cope up with. Second innings of that match and second innings of the SSC Test, the boys played really well. But there was no continuity'
The chairman of selectors M S K Prasad feels that Hardik Pandya has the potential to match the legendary Kapil Dev, provided the all-rounder stays grounded.
Indian captain Virat Kohli on Friday urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to be more consistent in implementing rules pertaining to the players' code of conduct.
Saturday's incident occurred in the 58th over when Jadeja, after fielding off his own bowling, threw the ball back at Dimuth Karunaratne who had not left his crease.
New Delhi has a chance to rid itself of its image as the bully in the subcontinent by helping a neighbour tackle problems that India, for once, has no role in creating. It should grab the opportunity with both hands, suggests Aditi Phadnis.
Father Edmond Tillekeratne, social communications director for the Archdiocese of Colombo, said that the blast took place after Easter Mass, and that there were about 30 bodies lying in the area of the church.
Dhoni was once considered India's best finisher and no target was deemed out of reach with the boundary-hitting right-hander at the crease.
The Indian team will want Sanju Samson to translate his phenomenal talent into consistent performances when they try to wrap up the T20 International series against Sri Lanka by winning the second match in Colombo on Tuesday.
India skipper Shikhar Dhawan says he is not averse to experimenting with players like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Varun Chakravarthy and Devdutt Padikkal in the T20 series against Sri Lanka, starting Sunday
Sri Lanka's new Finance Minister Ali Sabry on Tuesday resigned, a day after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed him after sacking his brother Basil Rajapaksa amidst the island nation's worst economic crisis.
Team India will have to choose between experimenting and continuing the winning combination
Pandya's aggressive batting powered India to 487 all out after starting the day at 329 for six. The memorable knock was also Pandya's first ever hundred in first class cricket.
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.
Warne plotted Kohli's dismissal if he were to actually bowl to him.
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