Potent England pace bowling after an unbeaten 155 from Moeen Ali put Alastair Cook's side in complete control on a one-sided second day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Durham on Saturday.
Pleased with his fast bowlers show in the 169-runs win over Sri Lanka, skipper Virat Kohi said that it augurs well for the tours to Australia and New Zealand.
Sri Lanka and Australia shared the spoils on the opening day of the third and final Test on Friday, the tourists putting up 235 for five before bad light stopped play. A sedate knock of 81 off 207 balls by Shaun Marsh held the Australian innings together as they struggled for runs throughout the rain-interrupted day.
Kusal Mendis remained unbeaten on 166 and combined in a fourth-wicket partnership of 196 with Asela Gunaratne to put Sri Lanka on course for a big first innings total against Bangladesh on the first day of the opening Test at Galle on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe lost two early wickets but recovered to finish 126 for two at the close on the second day of the second Test on Monday in reply to Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 504. Brian Chari and Craig Ervine were both 60 not out as Zimbabwe fought back after a poor start when they slumped to 17 for two but the hosts still trail by 378 runs. Sri Lanka, who won a closely contested first Test last week, went from 290 for five overnight to being dismissed just before tea with Asela Gunaratne completing a maiden test century.
Sri Lanka named a 16-member team for the upcoming Test series against India with uncapped 23-year-old fast bowler Vishwa Fernando the only fresh face picked by the national selectors.
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.
Australia opener Phil Hughes scored his first Test hundred in 2-1/2 years on Monday as Sri Lanka pressed for a series levelling victory in the third and final Test.
Michael Hussey's defiant 95 provided the only real resistance as Australia were bowled out for 273 by Sri Lanka on the opening day of the first Test on Wednesday.
If KL Rahul is fit, Abhinav Mukund will be expectedly left out, a strange coincidence because he was the original back-up opener in this Test squad ahead of Shikhar Dhawan.
Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane jumped three places to enter the top-10 in batsman's list while Ravichandran Ashwin maintained his pole position among all-rounders in the latest Test rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Chasing an improbable target of 490 to level the series, the tourists finished day three on 139-5, their highest total in the spin-dominated series, at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
Sri Lanka left out World Cup winners Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas from their final 15-man squad for this year's tournament.
Ajinkya Rahane became the first fielder in Test history to take eight catches, achieving the feat in the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Friday.
Stylish Indian opener Rohit Sharma, who couldn't make it to the Playing XI for the first Test -- he was forced to miss the opening Test due to viral fever -- was seen having an enjoyable time with team-mates while having an intense session of FIFA video games.
England's Jonny Bairstow compiled his first century at Lord's -- and his second of the series -- to ensure the hosts completed a satisfactory first day of the final Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday, finishing at 279 for six.
Riding on Jonathan Trott's double hundred (203) and Ian Bell's 98 (not out), England reached 491 for five in reply to Sri Lanka's 400 all out at stumps on Day 4 of the first Test on Sunday.
Ajinkya Rahane rated his knock of 132 against Sri Lanka as one his best on spin-friendly tracks as he predicted tough times for batsmen in the remainder of the second Test.
Hosts New Zealand gave the World Cup a cracking start with a scintillating batting show as they crushed last edition losing finalists Sri Lanka by 98 runs in the opening match of the showpiece event in Christchurch on Saturday.
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.
Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson fell agonisingly short of centuries but New Zealand's imposing total ensured they beat Sri Lanka by 120 runs in the sixth One-day international on Sunday to take an unassailable 4-1 lead in their seven-match series.
Sri Lanka ended Zimbabwe's day-long resistance seven overs from the end of play to grab victory by 225 runs on the final day of the first Test at the Harare Sports Club on Wednesday. Zimbabwe were bowled for 186 runs in their second innings within sight of what would have been a morale boosting draw. Sri Lanka's Dilruwan Perera and stand-in skipper Rangana Herath took three wickets each with Perera bowling out tailender Chris Mpofu in the 91st over of Zimbabwe's second innings to clinch victory despite a gallant knock by captain Graeme Cremer, who followed up a first innings century with a stubborn 43.
Kane Williamson hit a century and Luke Ronchi smashed 24 runs off one explosive over when the match was still in the balance to steer New Zealand to a four-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the fourth One-Day International in Nelson on Tuesday.
Lost in transition, defending champions Sri Lanka will look to come out of the rut and start well against a spirited Afghanistan in their World Twenty20 Super 10 opener at Eden Gardens on Thursday. The defending champions, who were also runners-up in 2009 and 2012, have managed to win only four of their 14 matches since they beat India to win the 2014 edition in Mirpur. They are in the middle of a transition phase after Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene's exit. The build-up to the tournament was also forgettable with series defeats in New Zealand and India followed by an early ouster in Asia Cup. To add to the misery, their 2014 WT20 winning skipper Lasith Malinga has stepped down as leader of the team, following concern over his slow recovery from a knee injury. Now Test and ODI skipper Angelo Mathews' task is cutout. Having joined the squad on Tuesday, Malinga is a doubtful starter for the match. His presence in the team would impact the team a lot.
Tillikaratane Dilshan eased to his 19th One-day International century to anchor his side to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second game of their seven-match series at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Thursday.
Keshav Maharaj claimed a career-best eight for 116 to prevent Sri Lanka from making the most of a strong start and limiting them to 277 for nine on the opening day of the second and final Test on Friday.
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.
As India take on Sri Lanka in a three Test series, Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers.
Sri Lanka will be sending middle order batsman Kithuruwan Vithanage and spinner Tharindu Kaushal as cover for the injured players ahead of the team's final round robin World Cup game against Scotland, scheduled to be played on March 11.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
Simon, who hails from Kalakurichi Village of Villupuram district, was kidnapped by a terror group calling itself Mujahideen on October 13 this year, police said.
Factbox on World Cup match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval.
With Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra tormenting Sri Lankan team in the first two Tests, former captain Sanath Jayasuriya feels that the newer crop of batsmen emerging from the island nation have not done proper assessment of their ability to handle quality spinners.
Sri Lanka all-rounder and former skipper Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi next week with a calf injury, but the uncapped Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva and Lahiru Gamage are in the squad.
Virat Kohli is the lone Indian batsman to be figuring in the top-10 in the ICC Test batsmen rankings.
Images from Day 5 in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka, in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
South Africa batted cautiously to reach 98 for three as they try to preserve their 1-0 lead in the series in the second Test and final against Sri Lanka on Friday.
Career figures of Sri Lanka's squad for the Asia Cup.
Sri Lanka seized control of the second Test against New Zealand on Friday as they reached 157 for two, a lead of 339 runs, at stumps on Day 3.
Angelo Mathews was replaced Lasith Malinga as captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team for the International Cricket Council World Twenty20.
