South Africa need five wickets on Friday to secure victory in the first Test after Sri Lanka provided dogged resistance and were 240 for five at stumps on the fourth day at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth.
Dhananjaya de Silva enhanced his rapidly-growing reputation with an unbeaten 43 as he kept South Africa's strike bowlers at bay to see Sri Lanka to 181 for seven in their first innings at the end of the second day of the first Test on Tuesday. The 25-year-old, who hit a six with his first scoring shot when he made his Test debut against Australia in July, brought Sri Lanka within 105 runs of South Africa's first innings total of 286 before bad light stopped play for the day.
Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the rest of the Sri Lanka Test series following the injury to his right hand.
Herath added three wickets to his previous day's removal of opener Kraigg Brathwaite (34) after taking six wickets in the first innings. He finished with match figures of 10-147.
India are in sight of their first series triumph on Sri Lankan soil in 22 years, having reduced the hosts to 67 for 3 after setting them a daunting target of 386 in the third and final Test in Colombo on Friday.
Steven Smith and Shaun Marsh hit centuries but Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath picked up six wickets to restrict Australia's first-innings lead to 24 runs on the third day of the third and final Test on Monday.
Fired four years ago following allegations of match-fixing, Ejaz Ahmed junior has been controversially appointed head coach of the Pakistan squad for the Asian Emerging Nations Cup, to be held in Karachi and Colombo in December.
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.
The veteran left-hander was unbeaten on 160 as Sri Lanka reached the close of play on 314 for five after captain Angelo Mathews had won the toss and opted to bat.
Experienced Pakistan batsmen Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq both scored centuries to put their team firmly in control of the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva safely guided their side to 84 without loss in their second innings at the close of the second day's play in the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday after being forced to follow-on.
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews led by example, hitting an unbeaten 77 to help his team overcome a top order wobble and take a 291-run lead against Pakistan at the end of the third day's play in the third and final Test at Pallekele on Sunday.
Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada claimed four wickets each as South Africa ripped out Sri Lanka for 110 on the second day of the second Test.
South Africa captain Hashim Amla remained unbeaten after his 22nd Test hundred but off-spinner Dilruwan Perera's career best figures gave Sri Lanka a big first innings lead at the end of the third day of the second Test on Saturday.
Sri Lanka's Kaushal Silva and Kumar Sangakkara offered stubborn resistance on the second day of the opening Test after Joe Root put England in control by hitting his maiden Test double ton on Friday.
Kusal Mendis excelled under pressure again, hitting a sparkling 86 and featuring in two important partnerships to help Sri Lanka overcome a shaky start and post 281 all out on the opening day of the second Test against Australia on Thursday.
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.
England moved towards victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka whose batsmen showed sufficient resolve on Sunday to push the game into a fourth day if not affect a result that still seems inevitable.
Kumar Sangakkara struck his 37th Test hundred as he and his retiring team mate Mahela Jayawardene powered Sri Lanka to 252 for two wickets before rain washed out the final session on day three of the first Test against Pakistan on Friday.
Dimuth Karunaratne's second Test century lifted Sri Lanka to 272 for eight against Pakistan after Yasir Shah exposed their frailties against leg-spin on the opening day of the series-deciding third and final Test in Pallekele on Friday.
Sri Lanka recovered from losing opener Upul Tharanga to reach 99 for one in reply to Pakistan's 451 at close on the second day of the first Test on Thursday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the interesting numbers from Day 5 of the India-England Test at Lord's.
England picked up three early wickets as Sri Lanka struggled to 218 for six at lunch on the third day of the third and final Test at Lord's on Saturday.
Mahela Jayawardene, batting with three stitches in his left hand, ignored the pain to complete his 32nd Test hundred and put Sri Lanka firmly in the driving seat in the second Test against Pakistan in Dubai on Thursday.
Images from Day 1 in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Galle.
Rajneesh Gupta presents interesting numbers from Day 2 of the second Test in Colombo, on Friday.
Off-spinner Mark Craig grabbed three wickets after lunch as New Zealand completed a 193-run victory, and 2-0 series sweep, shortly before tea on the final day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve on Wednesday.
Australia grabbed a handy 86-run lead in the first innings over Sri Lanka and dealt an early blow with the new ball before rain washed out the entire final session for the second consecutive day in the first Test at Pallekele on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was vindicated for surprisingly deciding to field after winning the toss when his fast bowlers skittled Pakistan for 165 in the first innings of the second Test in Dubai on Wednesday. Sri Lanka then lost opener Dimuth Karunaratne (32) before reaching 57 for 1 when bad light brought an end to the day's play.
India took a firm grip on the first Test against Sri Lanka by taking a first innings lead of 192 and snaring the hosts' openers in the second innings by the end of Day 2 in Galle on Thursday.
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.
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.
Debutant fast bowler Bilawal Bhatti dismissed experienced duo Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene in consecutive deliveries as Pakistan strengthened their hold on the first Test against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Part-time spinner Kraigg Brathwaite took six wickets in an inspired bowling performance as West Indies bowled Sri Lanka out for 206 in their second innings to leave the touring side with a target of 244 to win the second Test.
Four batsmen scored half-centuries to take Sri Lanka to 411 for six on Day 1 of their two-day warm-up against Board President's XI in Kolkata.
Statistical highlights from Day 4 in the second Test between India and Sri Lanka, in Colombo.
Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah claimed his third five-wicket haul of the series but Sri Lanka took the upper hand on day two of the third and final Test by restricting the visitors to 209 for nine at Pallekele on Saturday.
Sri Lanka's seamers shared eight wickets to vindicate captain Angelo Mathews's decision to bowl after winning the toss as Bangladesh were shot out for 232 on the opening day of the first Test in Dhaka on Monday. In reply, the tourists were 60 for no loss when stumps were drawn, with Dimuth Karunaratne unbeaten on 28 and Kaushal Silva on 30.
Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal picked up two wickets in the last session to restrict Sri Lanka to 220 for 5 at stumps on the first day of the third and final Test in Sharjah on Thursday.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia, at Pallekele, on Tuesday.
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