The Sri Lankan cricket team, led by veteran pacer Lasith Malinga, arrived in Guwahati on Thursday for the three-match T20 series against India amid tight security after the city witnessed widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The Sri Lankan team headed straight to the team hotel amid a thick security cover. The members of the Indian team are expected to arrive in batches on Friday for the series opener on Sunday.
Fast bowler Mitchell Starc picked up his second five-wicket haul in the match to lead Australia to a comprehensive 366-run victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka and a 2-0 series win.
Trent Boult needed just 15 balls to change the complexion of the second Test against Sri Lank
Sri Lanka's top-order batsmen put up a solid display and were ably aided by their bowlers to help their side thump England by 219 runs for the touring side's worst one-day international loss by runs.
Keshav Maharaj claimed a career-best eight for 116 to prevent Sri Lanka from making the most of a strong start and limiting them to 277 for nine on the opening day of the second and final Test on Friday.
Fast bowler Suranga Lakmal took four for 27 to set up Sri Lanka's 10-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the first Test in Harare on Thursday.
Big gains for Chahal and Kuldeep in bowler rankings
India have not lost a series at home since the defeat to South Africa in October 2015.
Pakistan's teenage fast bowler Naseem Shah led the hosts' recovery against Sri Lanka on a riveting opening day as Test cricket returned to the country on Wednesday for the first time since a militant attack in 2009.
India bulldozed Sri Lanka by 168 runs in the fourth one-day international on Thursday after skipper Virat Kohli and opener Rohit Sharma smashed blistering hundreds to put the tourists 4-0 up in the five-match series.
Teenager Trent Alexander-Arnold curled in a magnificent free kick on his European debut to set Liverpool on the way to a 2-1 win at Hoffenheim which put them on the brink of UEFA Champions League group stage place.
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.
K L Rahul broke into the top-10 at 9th, while Shikhar Dhawan also attained a career-high position of 28th in the latest ICC Test rankings after India's clean-sweep of Sri Lanka in a three-match series.
The visitors have a 2-0 lead in the series and can wrap up the contest with another win here before leaving for the last leg of the tour in Colombo.
Chasing 279 for victory, Sri Lanka overcame Woakes's triple strikes to reach 140-5 in 29 overs when heavy rain stopped play and England won the match under the scoring method governing such rain-marred matches.
'We have seen the SLC statement, but are not privy to any information or intelligence report relating to safety of the SL team. The PCB reiterates its commitment to provide complete safety and security to the SL side and in this relation will continue to work with the SLC'
Pakistan Science and Technology Minister Fawad Hussain claimed that Sri Lankan cricket players opted out from the upcoming tour of Pakistan after India threatened them that they will be ousted from the Indian Premier League if they failed to do so.
Former captain Mahela Jayawardene hit a classy unbeaten century to help Sri Lanka close on 305 for five on the first day of the second Test against South Africa in Colombo on Thursday. In a chanceless six hours at the crease, Jayawardene finished on 140 not out off 225 balls, including one six and 16 fours, to give Sri Lanka a solid start in their bid to level the two-match series.
IMAGES from the 1st T20I played between India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday
Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne missed individual centuries but forged Australia's highest partnership of the summer to earn the hosts a handy first innings lead against Sri Lanka on day two of the series opening day-night Test on Friday.
Cheteshwar Pujara stood tall amid ruins as Sri Lanka struck twice in the truncated morning session to reduce India to 74 for five before rain forced play to be called off early on day two of the opening Test on Friday.
Tom Latham produced another masterful innings of patience and concentration as New Zealand turned the screw on Sri Lanka on the third day of the second Test at Hagley Oval, in Christchurch, on Friday.
The New Zealand captain provided a batting masterclass against Sri Lanka in Wellington on Sunday to keep up his chase of Virat Kohli to become the world's top Test batsman.
Sri Lanka will look towards veteran Lasith Malinga to deliver with the ball and get them back on the winning path after their horror showing in the three-Test series.
South Africa's Faf du Plessis smashed a career-best 185 off 141 balls as the hosts beat Sri Lanka by 40 runs after surviving a fierce onslaught in a high-scoring fourth one-day international to take a 4-0 series lead on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors Sanath Jayasuriya has said that the hastily-arranged five-match ODI series in India, to be held in early next month, will help the fringe players prove their worth before next year's World Cup.
"It was tough up front, the Sri Lanka bowlers didn't give us much to work with," Markram told reporters.
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.
A fit-again Rohit Sharma and Manish Pandey slammed strokeful centuries as India A feasted on Sri Lanka's mediocre attack before registering a comfortable 88-run victory in a warm-up match for the visitors ahead of their ODI series against India at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) on Thursday.
Akila Dananjaya's career-best 6-54 was in vain as India beat Sri Lanka by three wickets in their second one-day international to go 2-0 up in the five-match series in Pallekele on Thursday.
India amassed 600 in their first innings and returned to blow away the top half of the Sri Lankan batting order to tighten their grip on the first Test at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday.
Sri Lankan batting once again promised a lot but delivered too little losing as many as seven wickets for 53 runs after they were cruising along at 185 for 3.
Wayne Parnell and Imran Tahir took three wickets each as South Africa cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first one-day international in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Off-spinner Moeen Ali struck twice in three deliveries as England completed a 57-run victory in the second test against Sri Lanka on the final day on Sunday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Sri Lankan cricket and the island's once-powerful side arrive at the World Cup struggling for form under a newly appointed captain who has played a single One-day international since 2015.
Boosted by their 3-0 clean sweep of Australia Down Under, a confident India would seek to continue their winning momentum when they take on a depleted and new-look Sri Lanka in the first of three T20 Internationals, in Pune, on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva safely guided their side to 84 without loss in their second innings at the close of the second day's play in the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday after being forced to follow-on.
India, who play three matches against Australia and five against New Zealand, could reach 125 points and within one point of England
Soft-spoken Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal on Wednesday said youngsters with 'good attitude' are always able to produce results after his team eked out a hard-earned draw against India in the third cricket Test.
A country which produced champion players of spin bowling such as Roy Dias, Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, it has been sharp downward slide for Dinesh Chandimal's men, who have consistently failed against Indian spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
