The visible discomfort of their own batsmen on a seaming track made them over-excited which is the reason for leaking way too many runs on the third day, feels seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Images from Day 2 in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka, in Mohali, on Saturday.
Sri Lanka cricket coach Nic Pothas says 'too many cooks' are spoiling his efforts to revive the national team and has called for greater autonomy in the wake of yet another confidence-sapping loss against India on Sunday.
Sri Lanka ended the third day's play at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on 293 for five, still 10 runs away from making New Zealand bat again after they had been asked to follow on.
In reply to Sri Lanka's 411/9 declared, the Board President's XI were struggling at 31/2 after lunch on the second day, but Samson patiently built his innings and helped his side reach 287/5 when both captains agreed on a stalemate after 75 overs.
Sri Lanka off-spinner Dilruwan Perera took six wickets in the second innings for a match-haul of 10, as the hosts registered a thumping 278-run win over South Africa inside three days of the opening Test on Saturday.
It was an eighth ODI victory in a row for South Africa and an 11th win in succession at home as they showed form in the build-up to the Champions Trophy in England in June.
South Africa lost the wicket of opener Alviro Petersen for a duck as they chased 369 runs for victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Fired four years ago following allegations of match-fixing, Ejaz Ahmed junior has been controversially appointed head coach of the Pakistan squad for the Asian Emerging Nations Cup, to be held in Karachi and Colombo in December.
England beat Sri Lanka by 42 runs in the third and final Test in Colombo, on Monday, to complete a 3-0 series sweep.
England captain Joe Root hit a brilliant century to put his team in a strong position in their quest for a series-clinching victory on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka on Friday.
Roshen Silva struck a combative fifty and expertly guided Sri Lanka's lower order to help the hosts gain a first-innings lead of 46 against England on the second day of the second Test on Thursday.
India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 239 runs in the second Test in Nagpur after the touring side were bundled out for 166 shortly after lunch on the fourth day.
Sri Lanka were never going to chase 410, but did well enough to bat as many as 102 overs in the second innings, finishing at 299 for five before the captains mutually agreed to a draw.
Paceman Mohammed Shami struck twice as India closed in on a massive win on day three of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka on Monday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from Day 4 of the first Test.
Kaif spoke about the hope he has from Shaw, how head coach Rahul Dravid would have a calming influence on the group
Looking for a proper tune-up before the three-match Test series against hosts Sri Lanka gets underway, India would be hoping that rain stays away from their one and only three-day practice game beginning at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, on Thursday.
The Australia batsman has overtaken New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and is now only nine points behind India skipper Virat Kohli.
A dominant Indian team is expected to maintain its stranglehold on a miserable Sri Lanka and wrap up the three-match series when the two mismatched teams face off in the second Twenty20 International in Indore on Friday.
India nearly scripted an epic win but the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka ended in a draw after a tantalising final day's cricket.
The dominant home side, playing in a changed pink kit in aid of breast cancer awareness, eased to victory with a full 18 overs to spare as De Villiers led the way with 60 from 61 balls.
India's captain Virat Kohli staved off the threat of defeat before their fast bowlers ensured the hosts finished on a high in the drawn opening Test against Sri Lanka in an enthralling final day at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
Four batsmen scored half-centuries to take Sri Lanka to 411 for six on Day 1 of their two-day warm-up against Board President's XI in Kolkata.
India completed a 3-0 clean sweep of Sri Lanka with an innings and 171-run annihilation in the third and final Test, bringing to an early end to one of the most lopsided series in recent years.
This is Tharanga's second ban in recent times after he suffered a similar two-match ban for slow over-rate in the Champions Trophy when he had led the side against South Africa in the absence of then-skipper Angelo Mathews.
Images from Day 1 of the third and final Test between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo on Saturday.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, on Friday.
Pat Cummins took a career-best 6-23 to help Australia crush Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs inside three days in the series opening day-night Test.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan (94) and KL Rahul (73) restored India's dominance with fluent half-centuries as the hosts erased a 122-run lead to nose ahead in the opening cricket Test against Sri Lanka, in Kolkata on Sunday.
Eight teams have formed some of the best combinations from a pool of 64 top cricketers in the players' draft for T10League -- the limited ten-over format cricket -- that will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Virat Kohli would hope for a turnaround when India take on an under-prepared Sri Lanka in the second Test in Bengaluru
Lost in transition, defending champions Sri Lanka will look to come out of the rut and start well against a spirited Afghanistan in their World Twenty20 Super 10 opener at Eden Gardens on Thursday. The defending champions, who were also runners-up in 2009 and 2012, have managed to win only four of their 14 matches since they beat India to win the 2014 edition in Mirpur. They are in the middle of a transition phase after Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene's exit. The build-up to the tournament was also forgettable with series defeats in New Zealand and India followed by an early ouster in Asia Cup. To add to the misery, their 2014 WT20 winning skipper Lasith Malinga has stepped down as leader of the team, following concern over his slow recovery from a knee injury. Now Test and ODI skipper Angelo Mathews' task is cutout. Having joined the squad on Tuesday, Malinga is a doubtful starter for the match. His presence in the team would impact the team a lot.
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.
Sri Lanka batted the 16 overs during the final 85 minutes of play on the fourth day with an aim to survive rather than play positive cricket.
The visitors never got going as spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (4/67) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/56) along with comeback-man Ishant Sharma (3/37) shared the spoils.
Dasun Shanaka is their 10th captain in nearly five years, and barring a classy batsman like Dhananjaya de Silva and a steady pacer in Dishmantha Chameera, this team lacks quality to challenge the might of the Indian team led by Shikhar Dhawan.
Bowlers dominated the day with 16 wickets falling in the entire day.
This is his 'Test' and for Kohli, a century to mark a 'century' is something he would be craving
Rohit Sharma once again showed his class in the limited overs format with a stylish unbeaten 124 as India took an unassailable 3-0 lead with a six-wicket victory in the third ODI, which was marred by unruly crowd behaviour, in Pallekele, on Sunday.
