Avishka Fernando scored a superb 96 and Dunith Wellalage took five wickets as Sri Lanka thumped India by 110 runs in Colombo.
Against Bangladesh, Samson wasn't even considered good enough to come inside the top seven of the line-up and that begs a question as to what is he doing in the team if he isn't good enough to come ahead of Axar Patel.
But in their pursuit of glory, both leaders must find a way to address the issues at hand.
Sri Lankan Kusal Mendis struck a majestic maiden century on day three of the first Test against Australia to leave the bowler-dominated contest evenly poised at Pallekele on Thursday.
Prior to the series, Sri Lanka had not won a game in any format since October but become the first team from Asia to win a Test series in South Africa as they comfortably chased down a victory target of 197 on the third day.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of Asia Cup 2025.
Gujarat Titans set to miss Buttler in play-offs, Moeen Ali not to return for KKR
Spinner Prabath Jayasuriya led the charge with a five-wicket haul as Bangladesh collapsed for just 133 in their second innings, handing Sri Lanka a win by an innings and 78 runs.
Kamindu Mendis maintained his red-hot form and struck a majestic 114 to power Sri Lanka to 302/7 on the opening day of the first Test.
Smith's unbeaten 120 is his second successive hundred of the series while Carey made a career-best 139 not out hitting 22 fours and three sixes between them.
England's right-handed batter Harry Brook has replaced his teammate Joe Root to reclaim the No. 1 Test batter's position in the world
Earlier on Sunday, bad light stopped play with the Lankans needing 125 more runs to secure a well-deserved turnaround victory in the third Test against England and avoid a 3-0 series whitewash.
Dimuth Karunaratne's Test career ended in a whimper as Sri Lanka's most prolific Test opener fell caught behind to Kuhnemann after making 14.
Sri Lanka's decision to bat first backfired when they were all out for 236 on Day 1 of the first Test.
Sri Lanka are due to host Zimbabwe in three one-day internationals from January 16-21.
The Sri Lankan selectors, on Sunday, dropped batsman Kusal Mendis from their 15-member squad while Angelo Mathews returned to lead the side in the upcoming tour of India.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Monday suspended three players, including batsman Kusal Mendis and wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella, for breaching the bio-bubble during their ongoing tour of England and ordered their immediate return to the country.
Nortje outdid a spell of his own against Bangladesh back in the 2022 tournament in Australia, where he took 4/10 runs.
The 18-member Sri Lanka Test squad, led by star batter Dimuth Karunaratne and featuring veterans such as Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal, checked in Dharamsala on Friday.
Wanindu Hasaranga will make his comeback after missing the Asia Cup and the 50-overs World Cup.
Pictures from the 2nd ODI between India and Sri Lanka being played in Colombo, Sri Lanka
All-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva will take over from Dimuth Karunaratne as captain of Sri Lanka's Test side, the country's cricket board (SLC) said on Thursday.
IMAGES from Asia Cup Super 4 match played between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Colombo on Saturday.
A clinical India defeated Sri Lanka comprehensively by six wickets to continue their their winning run in the Nidahas Twenty20 Tri-Series, in Colombo, on Monday.
Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj sent Sri Lanka crashing for 55 as India scored a thumping 302-run victory to qualify for semis.
Sri Lanka Cricket picked a 20-member squad for the white-ball series starting on January 3.
Karunaratne, 36, scored 7222 runs in Tests at a healthy average of nearly 40, including a top score of 244. He also played 50 ODIs, scoring 1,316 runs.
Tom Latham and Kane Williamson led New Zealand's fightback with sparkling half-centuries as the Black Caps reached 255-4 on the rain-hit second day of their opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle
Gujarat Titans will be aiming for a top-two spot even as Chennai Super Kings continue planning for the future when the two teams meet in the Indian Premier League match in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
India's newly-forged coach-captain combination of Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav will look to make instant impact against a Sri Lankan team in disarray.
Spin twins Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon combined to dismantle Sri Lanka and bowl Australia to a crushing victory by an innings and 242 runs in the opening Test in Galle on Saturday.
Injury-hit Sri Lanka and South Africa seek winning start to World Cup
Mathews made his T20 comeback for Sri Lanka in January after a three-year gap.
Hasaranga too is returning from a chronic heel pain on his left leg, which forced him to miss the ongoing IPL.
Sri Lanka took complete control of the second Test against New Zealand on Friday as batting sensation Kamindu Mendis scored the fifth century of his young career and helped the hosts post a mammoth 602-5 declared on day two in Galle.
Jaiswal accomplished this milestone during his side's second T20I match against Sri Lanka at Pallekele.
Kusal Mendis and captain Dimuth Karunaratne handed Sri Lanka a strong start in Day 1 of the first Test against New Zealand.
IMAGES of the Group A T20 World Cup match played between Sri Lanka and Netherlands at the Simonds Stadium, in South Geelong, Australia on Thursday
Mendis hit six fours and three sixes in his 29-ball knock and with some lusty hitting from Wanindu Hasaranga, who made an unbeaten 37 off 14 deliveries, helped Sri Lanka to a total of 188 for five from their 20 overs.
Uncertainty looms over Lanka-Bangla World Cup clash due to severe air pollution
