Kumar Sangakkara blasted a career-best 169 to help Sri Lanka crush South Africa by a huge margin of 180 runs in the first One-Day International, in Colombo, on Saturday.
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.
High on confidence after their third consecutive win, Mumbai Indians will hold a clear edge over the inconsistent Delhi Daredevils in their key Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
It will be a battle of youngsters with the likes of Nitish Rana, Hardik Pandya on one side and the new star in the horizon Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan with his variations on the other side.
Ambati Rayudu conceded that his side will have to play each game as a must-win.
"The way he is hitting it gives us confidence as a team that there is someone who can hit that well at the end and win crucial games."
Youngster Hardik Pandya blasted an unbeaten half-century to help Mumbai Indians edge past Kolkata Knight Riders and boost their hopes of making it to the play-offs in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Getting the wicket of "dangerman" Virender Sehwag early on Wednesday will be crucial for Sri Lanka's chance of winning the first cricket Test, according to spinner Rangana Herath, who stole the spotlight with an unbeaten 80.
Images from the 2010 Asia Cup final between India and Sri Lanka in Dambulla, on Thursday.
Sri Lanka could have batted better, says Mahela Jayawardene
Losing Shane Watson early was the turning point of the match.
Sri Lanka, who won the tournament in 1996 before making consecutive finals in 2007 and 2011, enter the 2019 edition on a difficult recent run of form.
England crushed Sri Lanka by seven wickets in a one-sided encounter to storm into the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in St Lucia, on Thursday. England cruised to 132 for three in 16 overs after restricting Sri Lanka to 128 for six.
Factbox on World Cup match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval.
Images from the tri-series ODI between India and Sri Lanka, played in Dambulla on Sunday.
A responsible half-century from captain Angelo Mathews and some big hitting by Thisara Perera set up a comprehensive 77-run win for Sri Lanka against Pakistan in the second ODI on Tuesday and helped the hosts level the series at 1-1.
The mighty Mumbai Indians have been the team to beat in IPL history and the Sri Lankan great says they have worked hard on building a "culture of success".
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) accused former selection committee chief Kapila Wijegoonawardena of hurting the morale of the national team ahead of their ICC World Twenty20 campaign by making "inaccurate and misleading" statements in the media. "Mr Wijegoonawardne's statements are inaccurate, misleading, and defamatory, and furthermore are of the nature to cause grevious injury to the moral of the Sri Lanka cricket team, currently intent on bringing home the ICC World Twenty 20," a statement from SLC read. Wijegoonawardena was fired by the Sports Minister last week and was replaced by former batsman Aravinda de Silva. In a statement later, Wijegoonawardena accused that he was victim of politics and a selection committee would not be required in future as politicians would be handpicking the team. He alleged that the decision to remove Lasith Malinga as captain and the team for the ongoing World T20 had been discussed at a team hotel room during the Asia Cup held in Bangladesh.
With an eye on the final spot, two-time champions Chennai Super Kings face high-flying Mumbai Indians in their first qualifier in the Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Powered by a swashbuckling 133 off just 59 balls by AB de Villiers and a classy 82 from skipper Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore trounced Mumbai Indians by 39 runs in the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the 52 games in IPL-12.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the first 44 games in IPL-12.
Spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has been named in Sri Lanka's one-day international squad for their five-match series against Pakistan, starting next week, after recovering from a knee injury. Muralitharan, 37, the highest wicket-taker in ODI history, missed the three-match Test series with a tendon injury and will team up with Ajantha Mendis and recalled leg spinner Malinga Bandara in a 15-man squad that includes three spinners.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene and vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara were left out of Sri Lanka's 15-man squad on Tuesday for the Twenty20 match against India next week. Tillakaratne Dilshan will lead the side, with Chamara Kapugedera serving as his deputy.
Sri Lanka fought off a strong challenge from Ireland at Lord's on Sunday to win their Twenty20 World Cup Super Eight match by nine runs. Ireland, the only non-Test playing nation still in the tournament, restricted the 1996 World one-day champions to 144 for nine after Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to bat.
Sri Lanka will start next month's Champions Trophy as underdogs but are confident they have the quality to compete for the title, captain Angelo Mathews said on Thursday.
With Shikhar Dhawan back in form in the shortest format, the Indian team management and captain Virat Kohli will have the headache of picking from three in-form openers
It seems as if Sri Lanka's cricketers are fast learning the art of cheating and depriving a player of a landmark when he is on the verge of achieving it.
Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara showered encomiums on his teammates after they scored a comprehensive 97-run win over New Zealand in the first ODI of the Compaq Cup tri-series on Tuesday.
It will not be the first time that the competition has had to be held outside India.
A 127-run opening partnership between Sachin Tendulkar (68) and Sanath Jayasuriya (52), followed by splendid bowling by Lasith Malinga (three for 11) and Abhishek Nayar (three for 13), helped Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 92 runs in the Indian Premier League match in Port Elizabeth on Monday. Chasing an improbable 188 to win, Knight Riders crashed to 95 for nine and suffered their worst defeat in the second edition of the league.
It all starts in Guwahati on Sunday as the biggest city in Assam is slowly getting back to normalcy after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Injuries to key players such as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma is giving them the jitters but India would still be firm favourites when they take on a depleted and struggling Sri Lanka in their penultimate league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament, in Mirpur, on Tuesday.
Penpix of the Sri Lanka squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Career figures of Sri Lanka's squad for the Asia Cup.
India, who play three matches against Australia and five against New Zealand, could reach 125 points and within one point of England
'I just want to keep learning and keep getting better.'
Four among IPL's five best players are coming in relatively 'fresh' and only AB de Villiers among them has had a full cricket season. Lasith Malinga is returning from injury, and Irfan Pathan isn't a regular in India's playing eleven in ODIs and Tests.
Mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis made it to Sri Lanka's 14-member squad for the first cricket Test against India with the pace attack looking severely depleted by injuries to frontline pacers.
An explosive unbeaten 85 from David Miller and some hostile bowling by the fast bowlers helped South Africa to beat Sri Lanka by 56 runs in Pallekele on Friday and stay alive in the five-match series.
