Australia dethroned India from the top position of the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings after its 4-1 victory over South Africa in the five-match series which concluded in Sydney.
Play was called off on Saturday without a ball being bowled because of rain.
It was a historic day for Indian cricket as Team India took over as the number one team in the ICC ODI rankings following their six-wicket victory against New Zealand, in Colombo, on Friday. India, who received two points for the victory, overtook South Africa with 128 points to top the ODI rankings for the first time since they were introduced in October 2002.
The trophy to be given to the winner of the tri-Series between Sri Lanka, India and New Zealand in Colombo is no longer just an inanimate object that will gather dust in a cricket boardroom cabinet.
Shane Bond makes a comeback to official cricket after two years when he plays in a Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side will go top of the ODI rankings if it wins the upcoming series 4-3 or better. But it can drop below South Africa if it loses 6-1 or 7-0; Australia needs to win series to retain top position.
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara eye top 10 places while Ravindra Jadeja jumps to career-best third position among Test all-rounders.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the toss and elected to bat against India in the second one-day international of the tri-series in Colombo, on Friday. It is a do-or-die encounter for the Kiwis, who opted for two changes. Pacer Kyle Mills comes in for Daryl Tuffey, while Neil Broom replaces Nathan McCullum. For India, Rahul Dravid makes a comeback into the ODI squad after a gap of nearly two years, having last played an ODI, in October 2007.
After a relatively long break, India begin a gruelling cricket season in Colombo on Friday with a tri-series clash against New Zealand, fully aware that a clean sweep in the short series would make them the number one ODI team in the world.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann will have a 'private chat' with Usman Khawaja after the top order batsman publicly criticised selectors for dropping him during the Sri Lanka tour. Khawaja and opener Joe Burns were omitted for the third and final test in Colombo, which Australia lost to slump to a 3-0 series whitewash. Although both the Queenslanders struggled for runs, Khawaja told local media over the weekend he felt they were unfairly singled out.
India has a chance to claim the number one spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship when it turns out for the tri-nation series involving host Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
Having led India to many great victories since donning the captain's mantle, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has another chance to ink his name in the record books when the team begins the new season with the tri-series in Sri Lanka. India have the opportunity to clinch their first final in a multi-nation event in almost 11 years in the island nation when they take on the hosts and New Zealand in tri-series starting in Colombo on Tuesday, September 8.
Australian cricketer Nathan Bracken has said that the team is confident of regaining the top spot in world one-day cricket rankings, and will use the seven match one-day series against England as a ladder to leap back to the top.
Sri Lanka opener Tharanga Paranavitana has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the second Test against New Zealand. The punishment was handed down by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees following a hearing at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground at the conclusion of the second Test in Colombo on Sunday.
New Zealand faced an uphill struggle to avert a 2-0 series defeat as they closed on 182 for six, having been set a 494-run victory target by Sri Lanka on the fourth day of the second Test in Colombo on Saturday. Herath was the chief wicket-taker for Sri Lanka, following his three-wicket haul in the first innings, with four for 73 from 21 overs.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori on Wednesday joined the likes of Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee and Shane Warne when he became only the eighth all-rounder in Test cricket's history to collect 3,000 runs and bag 300 wickets.
Jasprit Bumrah, the fastest Indian pacer to 50 wickets, is now seventh in the bowlers' list after a leap of nine places owing to his five-wicket haul against the West Indies.
The Indian cricket team will play five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match in Sri Lanka next month, the dates of which would be announced soon, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in Colombo on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have suspended Kithuruwan Vithanage from all forms of the game for one year after finding him guilty of misconduct and breaching the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Code of Conduct.
.jpg)
How often do we see a batsman get out on 99 and score a hundred in his next innings in Test cricket? Murali Vijay is only the eighth batsman (on the ninth occasion) to do so. Rajneesh Gupta provides the details.
Their brief honeymoon with the number one tag over and their batting frailties exposed, India will have a score to settle when they take on Sri Lanka in the cricket tri-series final in Colombo on Monday.
India's captain Virat Kohli will have to think overtime about the balance of his squad, with a long tail, often bushy with runs, and just two openers -- one untested (Rohit Sharma) but very capable and another supremely talented (KL Rahul) but highly reluctant starter.
Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath became the most successful left-arm spinner in Test cricket on Saturday, claiming six for 59 to bowl his team to an emphatic 259-run victory against Bangladesh in the first Test.
India's Test captain Virat Kohli has dropped out of ICC's top-10 list for batsmen in the five-day format.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the interesting numbers from the match:
Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane said that his team will have to bowl with a lot of patience on fifth day on Monday in their pursuit of victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 1 of the 1st Test.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the T20 series against England.
Virat Kohli dropped a position to 11th leaving India with no batsmen in the top 10 of the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, in the latest update of the ICC Player Rankings released by the International Cricket Council on Tuesday.
Asked if Ganguly would be cornered at the meeting, he laughed and cited an example.
In a three part series, Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from Cricket World Cup held between 1975 to 2015.
Lala Amarnath was the first Indian to score to century on Test debut when he made 118 against England in Mumbai nearly 80 years ago, in 1933. Interestingly, his son Surinder also accomplished the feat when he made 124 against New Zealand in Auckland, in 1976.
Mithali Raj will lead the 14-member Indian squad in the next month's ICC Women's World Cup Qualifiers which brings together 10 sides in their quest to claim the remaining four places in the main event to be held in June next year. The tournament will run from February 7 to 21 at four Colombo venues and the sides finishing in the top four of the Super Six stage will join defending champion Australia, host England, former winner New Zealand and reigning ICC World Twenty20 champion West Indies in the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 from June 26 to July 23.
Kiwi star Brendon McCullum must have given nightmare to many bowlers around the world during his international playing days. The former New Zealand captain, who recently retired from international cricket, named the four toughest bowlers he found difficult to face against during his 14-year dream career. "Murali (Sri Lanka champion Muthiah Muralitharan) was always, for me, incredibly difficult to face, mainly because you had no idea which way it was spinning," McCullum told Star Sports. "Brad Hogg, as well, because of his uncanny bowling action and his ability to turn it both ways. "I think Brett Lee when he was in his pomp. He was fast, wasn't he? "And probably Mitchell Starc too of more recent times."
Statistical highlights of the Test matches played at Sinhalese Sports Club, venue of the first Test match between India and Sri Lanka, beginning in Colombo on Wednesday.
Statistical highlights of the second ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Pallekele.
As the Indian players relaxed at their hotel in Colombo or went out simply taking some time off, the World No 1 spinner and all-rounder spent the evening with coach Ravi Shastri and other members of the support staff.
In a three part series, Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
The start date has been moved forward and all games shifted to Colombo.
That Rohit will make a comeback was indicated by skipper Kohli in England and that was precisely the reason why he was rested for the limited overs series against West Indies.
