Ranjith Madduma Bandara, a senior politician from Wickremesinghe's United National Party was sworn in on Thursday morning as the new minister in charge of the police.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Rajapaksa and said he looks forward to further deepen relations between the two nations.
Though dubbed as the 'war hero', the role of Rajapaksa in ending the conflict with the LTTE with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009 is quite divisive as he stands accused of violating human rights, a charge he vehemently denies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the national cricket team and the junior hockey side for their recent successes, saying that their performances have done done the country proud. In his 'Mann Ki Baat' address to the nation, Modi appreciated the sporting success that India has achieved in the past fortnight during which the cricket team routed England 4-0 in a Test series while the junior hockey team became world champion.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has warned that his team cannot lower their guard against the Indians despite captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni being rested for the first three ODIs.
Off-spinner Moeen Ali struck twice in three deliveries as England completed a 57-run victory in the second test against Sri Lanka on the final day on Sunday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
'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.
Kohli had on Wednesday said the "overdose" of India-Sri Lanka cricket needs to be analysed as the islanders are touring for a return series in space of three months.
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.
Authorities in Turkey are still searching for Khashoggi's remains. Last week, the Turkish chief prosecutor's office said the 60-year-old's body was dismembered after he was strangled, while the Washington Post reported investigators were looking into the theory that the body was dissolved in acid.
India captain Virat Kohli does not mind if anger or aggression is channelised in the right direction which is what happened with a fiery Ishant Sharma after his altercation with Dhammika Prasad.
Sri Lankans Thirimanne, Chandimal and Prasad also charged
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.
The names of both Maregowda and Puttaraju had figured in the list of missing Janata Dal-Secular workers tweeted by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday.
The 34-year-old replaced Iftikhar Ahmed, who managed only 44 runs in four innings in the recent tour of Australia where Pakistan lost both Tests.
Lanka's sports minister said some 10 million rupees (around $70,000) had been offered to the players to lose the match. Police had mounted a search for the suspect who was said to have approached the two players
'There was a point of time -- I am very honest about it -- that I was not raring to even put on whites. I wasn't part of any team -- I wasn't part of any first-class team. There was a time when I was dropped from my own first-class team. To have this opportunity to be part of the Indian team is such a huge bonus'
'I don't want to run around things too much. I am going to keep doing my work and follow my process. I love doing my fitness drills and work on my skill level. I knew if it has to come, it will come'
It's time for colours, lights and celebrations - Diwali is here! In these photos, see celebrations from Gujarat to London to Colombo.
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.
Almost 40 per cent of a durable company's sales are achieved during the festival season
India's status as the No 1 Test side in ICC rankings will remain intact irrespective of how the series against South Africa pans out, but the Proteas will join the visitors at the top if they win all the three matches.
Kuldeep is in his fourth season with the KKR but it's only in the recent past that he has cemented his place in the Indian team as its go-to spinner along with Yuzvendra Chahal in the limited overs game.
Sri Lanka opener Kaushal Silva has recovered from a blow to the head he suffered while fielding last weekend to be named in the test squad for next month's tour of England.
Sri Lankans on Thursday voted in large numbers in the bitterly contested presidential election in which incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa is seeking a record third term against his friend-turned-foe Maithripala Sirisena, with an unusually high voter turnout in Tamil and Muslim areas.
Tensions remain high across Sri Lanka after the violence broke out following the death of a man from the mainly Buddhist Sinhalese majority last week.
Pakistan wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal and South Africa batsman Robin Peterson have been fined 50 percent of their match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for their shoving match during the first Test.
After 15 years of failing to win an Ashes Test series in England, Cricket Australia have decided to give players more experience with the Dukes cricket ball by using it in their domestic first class competition from next year.
Anup Sridhar beat Bangladesh's Mostafa Jabed Mohammad 21-3, 21-9 in the men's singles.
Delhi finds itself between the rock and hard place in the coming Sri Lankan election, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
His earlier thoughts of a 'more challenging' contest in One-day Internationals did not materialise as Sri Lanka hardly gave a fight to the Indians but the visiting captain Virat Kohli on Sunday expressed happiness at winning the series 5-0.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was almost ruled out for a crunch India-Pakistan match in the Asia Cup last year after he suffered an injury but the then Captain's determination saw him not only turning up for the game but also winning it, according to national chief selector M S K Prasad.
The Indian contingent of more than 300 navy personnel was assisting in the relief, with divers searching the brackish waters and medical teams seeing patients in makeshift tents set up at shelters.
Former batsman Mahela Jayawardene feels the fear of failure is impeding the growth of the Sri Lankan cricket team, which is currently being outplayed by India.
At a crowded beachfront mass, Pope Francis canonised Sri Lanka's first saint on Wednesday.
It has taken India 10 years to finish a Test in 3 days.
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