Lasith Malinga took five wickets to help Sri Lanka knock Twenty20 World Cup holders England out of the tournament with a 19-run Super Eights victory on Monday that put the hosts safely into the semi-finals.
Even as he led Sri Lanka to a big win with a fluent half-century, skipper Mahela Jayawardene stressed on the ploy to rotate his bowlers, which laid the West Indies low in the ICC World Twenty20 in Pallekele on Saturday night.
Hosts Sri Lanka pulled off a nail-biting victory over a spirited New Zealand via the Super Over, after their opening 'Super Eight' match of the ICC World Twenty20 saw fortunes fluctuate from one team to the other till the very end, in Pallekele, on Thursday.
Sri Lanka, beaten in three ICC limited overs finals since triumphing in the 1996 World Cup and 2002 Champions Trophy they hosted, hope being back on home soil will help them avoid the chokers tag in the World Twenty20 starting on Tuesday.
Unbeaten fifties by Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan gave hosts Sri Lanka a nine-wicket victory over the West Indies in their first warm-up match ahead of the World Twenty20, in Colombo, on Thursday. In another match, Ireland proved too good for Zimbabwe, winning by 54 runs.
Former England spinner Monty Panesar dismissed Sachin Tendulkar four times in 11 Tests but says the Indian legend was the best batsman he played against alongside Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Virender Sehwag was the "most destructive" of that era, Rahul Dravid was "The Wall", but the ability to change gears made Tendulkar the best.
Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara and fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara are winning their battle to be fit for this month's Twenty20 World Cup on home soil.
Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara and fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara are winning their battle to be fit for this month's Twenty20 World Cup on home soil.
He has been a part of losing side in three World Cup finals but Mahela Jayawardene is hoping to turn the tables during the upcoming World T20 as he wants to win atleast one major ICC silverware before he calls time on his glorious international career.
Sri Lanka produced an exceptional bowling and fielding display to beat Pakistan by 37 runs on Friday in the first of two Twenty20 internationals.
Images from the 9th ODI between Sri Lanka and Australia played in Hobart on Friday.
Sri Lanka have included seam bowler Lasith Malinga in their T20 and one day international squads for the home series against Pakistan starting next month.
A television 'sting operation' may have cast doubts over the credibility of the Indian Premier League, but Delhi Daredevils batsman Mahela Jayawardene insisted that the team's focus has not changed despite the spot-fixing allegations on some players.
Statistical highlights of the IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab in New Delhi.
Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene hit a calculated unbeaten half-century as Delhi Daredevils thrashed Kings XI Punjab by five wickets to qualify for the knockout stage of the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
Having lost both the five-match ODI series 4-1 and one-off Twenty20 International, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said inconsistency was the main reason behind his team's dismal performance against India.
For sheer quirkiness, few sport events can beat the cricket festival on the frozen lake at the Swiss resort of St Moritz.
Delhi Daredevils vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene, who joined the team on Sunday along with explosive English batsman Kevin Pietersen, today said that nowadays it's not difficult to switch formats.
Sri Lanka will need to counter the influence of returning Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq in the second Test, home skipper Mahela Jayawardene said on Friday.
# Bangladesh have reached the final of a One-day competition for only the second time -- their first being against Sri Lanka in the tri-nation Trophy at Mirpur on January 16, 2009, losing by two wickets.
Satisfied with the squad at his disposal for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag believes if his side can play to its potential it can figure in the play-offs of the Twenty20 tournament this year.
Delhi Daredevils today launched its new official song Munday Dilli Ke to herald the upcoming season of the India Premier League, that kicks off on April 4.
After Sri Lanka defeated Australia in a must-win match to qualify for the tri-series final, captain Mahela Jayawardene said his players showed a "lot of character" to lift themselves up after the morale-shattering loss against India in their penultimate round-robin game.
A clinical Sri Lanka rode on captain Mahela Jayawardene's unbeaten half century to beat Australia by eight wickets in a rain-affected match and register their first victory in the cricket tri-series at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
Kings XI Punjab skipper David Hussey today backed his side to the hilt by saying that they do not lack firepower to pull off matches like the one against Delhi Daredevils.
He may be under pressure as a captain, but as finisher, lower down the batting order, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is considered one of the best in ODI cricket.
Dashing wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, Sri Lankan master batsman Mahela Jayawardene and R Vinay Kumar will attract top bids when 144 players from eleven countries go under the hammer in the IPL V auction in Bangalore on Saturday.
As he led Delhi Daredevils to a dominating win against Mumbai Indians with a blistering 73, Virender Sehwag on Friday said he is in prime form and it is team's strategy that either he or Mahela Jayawaredene stays at the crease at least till the 15th over.
Skipper Virender Sehwag slammed an explosive 73 and shared a scintillating 135-run opening stand with Mahela Jayawardene (55) to lead Delhi Daredevils to a crushing 37-run win over Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match at the Ferozshah Kotla on Friday.
Dashing batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan stepped down as Sri Lanka captain following the team's dismal performance in South Africa, where they lost both the Test and ODI series.
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene once again led from the front, hitting his second century in as many Tests to steer his side to 238 for six on the opening day of the second and final match against England on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene combined luck and pluck to hit his 30th Test century and steer the hosts to a respectable 289 for eight wickets on day one of the first Test against England on Monday.
His coming of age at the tournament could prove to be influential in the later stages as they now do not need to rely so much on their 'Big Three' of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, and Mahela Jayawardene to provide their runs.
Sri Lanka came up with a vastly improved performance in their second innings on Sunday, leaving the onus of saving the second Test against Australia on two of their most experienced batsmen, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene rued the lack of partnerships upfront as they lost to Australia by 16 runs in the last and decisive final of the tri-series in Adelaide.
Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene was proud of his team even though it lost the Commonwealth Bank one-day tri-series to Australia in Adelaide.
After registering a comprehensive win over Australia in the second final of the tri-series, Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene on Tuesday said that the key to his team's success against a tough opponent is to "compete well at all times".
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has been fined 10 percent of his match fee for arguing with the umpires during the second final of the best-of-the-three finals of tri-series against Australia in Adelaide.
Lasith Malinga has been taken to the cleaners for the second time in three games, but skipper Mahela Jayawardene backed the express bowler after his eight overs cost Sri Lanka 74 runs in the first final of the tri-series in Brisbane.
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has been dropped from Sri Lanka's 14-member squad for the Asia Cup, to be held in Dhaka from March 11 to 22.
