Sri Lankan cricket officials are considering a balanced pitch for the second Test against India at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC), moving away from a spin-friendly track. This decision aims to provide equal opportunities for both batters and bowlers, similar to the Galle pitch, and support their young batting lineup. The SSC pitch character has evolved over the years, with less home advantage since the retirement of legendary players.
Statistical highlights of day three in the second cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka at Green Park in Kanpur.
Sri Lanka's cricket team is facing significant injury challenges ahead of the second Test against India, with key batter Kusal Mendis ruled out due to a hamstring injury and Dinesh Chandimal sidelined with a concussion.
Harbhajan Singh's 6/102 are now the best by an Indian bowler against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, outstripping Venkatash Prasad's 5 for 72 at Kandy in 2001-02.
Opener Lakshya Rajesh Raichandani scored his second century of the series, an unbeaten 100, to help India U-19 declare their second innings at 208 for three. This put them in a commanding position against Sri Lanka U-19, who were chasing an improbable 472 and ended day three at 155-4.
Kushagra Ojha scored an unbeaten century, guiding India U-19 to a strong position of 253 for three against Sri Lanka on the opening day of the second Youth Test. After a shaky start where India lost two early wickets for no runs, Ojha, along with Yashbardhan Chauhan (78) and Manal Chauhan (55*), built crucial partnerships to stabilise the innings.
Images from the first day's play in the second Test between India and Sri Lanka, in Kanpur, on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka A captain Sahan Arachchige scored an unbeaten 83, leading his team to 288 for 5 on the opening day of the second unofficial 'Test' against India 'A'. Indian bowlers Yash Thakur and Saransh Jain took two wickets each, but the hosts built strong partnerships on a slow Galle pitch.
India dismissed Sri Lanka for 269 in their second innings to win by an innings and 144 runs and register their 100th Test victory on Day 4 of the second Test, at Green Park, in Kanpur, on Thursday. Following-on, the visitors failed with the bat yet again, only Thilan Samaraweera going past the half-century mark to finish unbeaten on 77 from 121 deliveries, inclusive of 11 boundaries, but got little support from the other end.
Sri Lanka were 66 for 1 at stumps, in reply to India's 642 in the fist innings, at the end of Day 2 in the second Test in Kanpur on Wednesday. Rahul Dravid went on to score a fluent 144 while Rangana Herath claimed five wickets as India were dismissed in 154 overs.
Sai Sudharsan scored his second consecutive century, and Devdutt Padikkal added an unbeaten 94, guiding India A to a strong 247 for one on Day 2 of the second unofficial Test against Sri Lanka A, trailing by 119 runs.
Former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath has underscored the critical role of Test cricket in developing depth within the game, despite the growing popularity of the T20 format. Speaking at an awards ceremony, Srinath advised young players to prioritise Test cricket, noting the difficulty for T20 specialists to transition to the longer format. He also stressed the responsibility of cricket associations, parents, and coaches in guiding emerging talent.
# Harbhajan Singh, with his three for 60, has surpassed Anil Kumble's record at Eden Gardens. Harbhajan's wicket-aggregate of 41 wickets at an average of 22.87 in just seven Tests has eclipsed Kumble's tally of 40 wickets (avg 30.82) in eight Tests.
Centuries from Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag helped India amass 417 for 2 in 90 overs on Day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
Comeback pacer S Sreesanth claimed five wickets for 75 runs as India made Sri Lanka follow-on in the second Test in Kanpur on Thursday. At stumps on Day 3, the visitors were 57 for 4 in the second innings, still trailing India by 356 runs.
The wicket at the SSC ground may be a batting paradise but Sri Lanka vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene is confident of ripping apart the strong Indian batting in the second Test in Colombo.
The prices of the tickets per day has been kept at Rs 1250 (Grand Terrace), Rs 750 (E-Executive), Rs 500 (D Corporate) and Rs 100 respectively.
Australia stormed to the top of the ICC World Test Championship 2025 standings with a thumping 10-wicket victory over India in the second Test at Adelaide.
The tournament, which returns after a four-year absence, will be played in the T20 format this year with an eye on the T20 World Cup later this year.
Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Anurag Thakur shot off an e-mail to the faction-ridden Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) enquiring whether they can host the second T20 International between India and Sri Lanka scheduled to be played at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi, on February 12.
The Test series will be part of the World Test Championship cycle.
From July 2016 to October 2019, in just 1,176 days, Kohli crafted seven double centuries, including six at home. He still holds the record for most Test double centuries by a captain and an Indian cricketer.
Pictures from the 2nd ODI between India and Sri Lanka being played in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal stole the show with a blistering half-century, surpassing the legendary Virender Sehwag's record for the fastest Test fifty by an Indian batter.
All-rounder Krunal Pandya tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the postponement of Tuesday's second T20 International between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo.
In the ODI rankings, Sri Lanka's two ODI matches at home against Zimbabwe =saw a number of movers, most notably on the bowling side through spinner Maheesh Theekshana, who moved to a career high rating (634) and rank (11th) with four wickets across the matches.
Rajneesh Gupta gives us all the numbers.
India hammered Sri Lanka inside four days to win the 2nd Test in Nagpur on Monday. The hosts bundled out Sri Lanka for 166 shortly after fourth day's lunch to thump them by an innings and 239 runs, the margin equalling their triumph against Bangladesh in a 2007 Test in Dhaka. Here are the statistical highlights from the fourth day's play of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka in Nagpur.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the Indore Test.
Burns, who had scored the last of his three Test hundreds against New Zealand in early 2016, was batting on 107, the first century by an Australian batsman since Usman Khawaja's 141 in the drawn Dubai Test against Pakistan last October.
Skipper Vijay Zol continued to make merry against the Sri Lankan attack as he scored his second successive hundred of the series to give India's a huge first innings lead in the second and final 'Youth Test' in Kurunegala, on Tuesday.
The second Test between India and Bangladesh at Kolkata's Eden Gardens will be the first day-night Test on Indian soil, making India the seventh country to host a day-night Test.
Boycott spells out his disappointment with England selectors for not replacing Buttler with Bairstow for 2nd Test vs India.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be gunning for the No.1 spot in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers as an interesting contest promises to develop with Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who wrested the top spot following a 10-wicket haul in the Lord's Test that ended on Sunday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the first Test.
'I felt that was lacking and I always knew I had the game to get the runs and it was just a matter of spending time in the middle'
Yuvraj Singh's patchy form and fear of inclement weather will be paramount when India take on the West Indies in the second One Day International, in Port of Spain on Sunday.
Close on the heels of Parveez Rasool's selection in the Indian team for the Zimbabwe tour, another Jammu and Kashmir cricketer Shubham Khajuria was on Wednesday selected in the India Under-19 squad for the tour of Sri Lanka.
After the 72-run loss in the opening Test, the margin got bigger as the visitors handed the home side a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
