South Africa have slipped to number six in the world, behind fifth-placed Sri Lanka, and have a host of questions to answer, not least around a brittle top six and the balance of the side.
The Senegal international, 26, joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2016 for 34 million pounds ($43.8 million) and has scored 40 goals in 89 games for the Anfield club.
Lasith Malinga is set to make a comeback to the Sri Lanka T20 and ODI team.
Kumar Sangakkara continued his awesome batting form in Bangladesh as Sri Lanka won the second One-Day International by 61 runs in Dhaka on Thursday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Ajantha Mendis claimed three wickets for nine runs as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 48 runs in their concluding Super Eight match of the Twenty20 World Cup.
Manchester City's hopes of closing the gap on the Premier League pacesetters were frustrated as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to lowly West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday.
A dominant India on Saturday outclassed an injury-ravaged and out-of-sorts Sri Lanka by 304 runs in the opening Test to bury the ghosts of a humilating loss at the same venue, exactly two years ago.
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Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis combined for a 58-run partnership to give Sri Lanka a nervous four-wicket victory over Afghanistan in their World Cup Pool A match at University Oval in Dunedin on Sunday.
After dismissing India for 146 in 46 overs, the hosts raced to the victory target with 15.1 overs to spare.
IMAGES from Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Manchester Utd's Fred receives racist abuse after defeat by Liverpool.
Meanwhile, a three-member committee appointed to probe the attacks that killed 258 people, including 11 Indians, on Monday submitted its final report to President Maithripala Sirisena.
David Miller helped South Africa blast 14 runs from their super over, before the wily Tahir restricted Sri Lanka to only five in reply, two of which were wides.
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.
All-rounder James Faulkner became the sixth Australian cricketer to claim a hat-trick in one-day internationals, achieving the feat in the second match against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. The 26-year-old left-arm bowler got his first wicket when he trapped Kusal Perera leg-before with the final delivery of his eighth over.
NorthEast United tasted their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Chennaiyin FC in an eventful Indian Super League football match that was marred by frayed tempers and violent conduct of players of both sides in Guwahati on Tuesday.
A spineless India slumped to their third heaviest Test defeat as Sri Lanka clinched the first Test by an innings and 239 runs with the spin combination of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis plotting the visitors' downfall in Colombo on Saturday. After enforcing the follow-on, Muralitharan (6 for 26) and Mendis (4 for 60) tore through the Indian batting order to bundle out the visitors for a paltry 138 to record Sri Lanka's biggest victory at home with a day to spare.
Tim Southee's prophecy before the start of the first Test against Sri Lanka came true on the opening day of the match as he took his eighth five-wicket haul at the Basin Reserve on Saturday.
Captain Graeme Cremer picked up three wickets with his leg spin to help Zimbabwe reduce hosts Sri Lanka to 293 for seven at the end of the second day in their one-off Test at the R Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.
De Kock smashed 121 off 108 balls at the top of the innings -- his 14th ODI hundred -- as they went on to make 331-5 off their 50 overs.
A magnificent century by Moeen Ali proved in vain as England suffered a 25-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the first of seven one-day internationals on Wednesday.
India 'A' coach Rahul Dravid advised Virat Kohli to make Virender Sehwag's unbeaten 201 at Galle (in 2008) as a reference frame for facing the Sri Lankan tweakers.
Batsmen Mahela Jayawardene and Lahiru Thirimanne were named in Sri Lanka's 15-member squads for the Asia Cup and WorldT20 in Bangladesh next month following injury lay-offs, while strike spin bowler Rangana Herath was included subject to him proving his fitness.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
India U-19 team inched towards a clean sweep after dismissing Sri Lanka for 316 in their first innings and then reducing the hosts to 47 for 3 at stumps, having enforced a follow-on here on the penultimate day of the second 'Youth Test'.
For all those who are likely to get a game, there will be just one target -- to make most of their chances as some of them might not get too many with just about 16 months left for the 50-overs World Cup.
Sri Lanka shot out the Netherlands for just 39 runs, the lowest ever Twenty20 International total, before winning the Super 10 match in the World Twenty20 by nine wickets, in Chittagong, on Monday.
Captain Eoin Morgan smashed his second half-century in two games and Adil Rashid took four wickets to help England crush Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the rain-marred third One-Day International on Wednesday.
Babar Azam scored an impressive hundred while Shoaib Malik smashed a quickfire half century to help Pakistan thump Sri Lanka by 83 runs in the first one-day international in Dubai on Friday.
Manchester City blew a two-goal lead and had Ederson sent off in a dramatic 3-2 defeat at Wolves on Friday.
Unchallenged by Sri Lanka so far, India would look to keep the foot on the pedal in their pursuit for a series whitewash when the two teams face off in the fourth and penultimate cricket One-dayer at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Real Madrid showed their character by beating Barcelona 2-0 in Sunday's top-of-the-table 'Clasico', leapfrogging their rivals at the La Liga summit after a week in which their pride had taken a beating at home and in Europe. Brazilian teenager Vinicius Jr scored the opener in the 71st minute with a strike that deflected off Gerard Pique, flummoxing goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen who had made some jaw-dropping saves, and substitute Mariano added the second in added time.
A superb all-round show by J P Duminy earned South Africa a 12-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 international in Colombo on Friday. The tourists, after putting up a modest 115-6 after electing to bat, restricted Sri Lanka at 103-9 at the Premadasa stadium.
Trent Boult took two wickets in one over and broke a partnership that had threatened to take the game out of New Zealand's reach as Sri Lanka reached 264 for seven by the end of a rain-shortened first day of the second Test on Friday.
The hosts, chasing a mammoth 550 for a win, only managed 245 runs before their second innings folded in the final session of the penultimate day after Dimuth Karunaratne had been dismissed for 97.
Solomon Mire slammed a century to help Zimbabwe upset Sri Lanka by six wickets in the first One-Day International in Galle on Friday.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has shrugged off suggestions that a mocking tweet by defender Kyle Walker could provide extra motivation for leaders Liverpool in their Premier League title battle.
Included in the side only because first choice spinner Ajantha Mendis flopped in Sri Lanka's defeat to England, Rangana Herath grabbed five wickets for just three runs in Monday's World T20 match.
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