# Smith's unbeaten 178 is the third highest by an Australian captain in Tests in Asia -- the top two being 334 not out by Mark Taylor vs Pakistan at Peshawar in October 1998 and 235 by Greg Chappell vs Pakistan at Faisalabad in March 1980.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be gunning for the No.1 spot in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers as an interesting contest promises to develop with Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who wrested the top spot following a 10-wicket haul in the Lord's Test that ended on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has emerged as the likely venue for the much-awaited Indo-Pak bilateral cricket series and an official announcement may be made on November 27.
John Hastings claimed six wickets before Aaron Finch and George Bailey's attacking half-centuries powered Australia to a series clinching six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the fourth one-day international in Dambulla on Wednesday. Australia rode on Finch's 19-ball 55 and an unbeaten 90 from Bailey to chase down 213 in 31 overs and take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Australia will play two spinners in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Pallekele on Tuesday, captain Steve Smith said, as the world's top-ranked side eye a turnaround in their poor record on the slow pitches in Asia.
Australia paceman Mitchell Starc can take 300 Test wickets and join the ranks of the nation's great seamers if he can stay fit for long enough, coach Darren Lehmann said.
Violence erupted on Monday following which police imposed curfew in the Theldeniya area.
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews led by example, hitting an unbeaten 77 to help his team overcome a top order wobble and take a 291-run lead against Pakistan at the end of the third day's play in the third and final Test at Pallekele on Sunday.
A fit-again Muhammad Irfan returned to the Pakistan cricket squad announced on Friday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's form has been on the wane and Virat Kohli is hoping that the next 24 ODIs will help the wicketkeeper-batsman get his mojo back in the limited overs format.
Sri Lanka, who won the last edition of the World T20 in 2014, have 21 wins from 31 matches in the six editions of the tournament, while India have 17 victories from 28 games. Check out the records of the previous five editions of the World T20.
The ICC also announced that the captains will not carry forward any over-rate offences into the World Cup.
Chasing an elusive dream of winning their first cricket Test in India, Sri Lanka will begin their gruelling tour with a two-day tour fixture against a depleted Board President's XI, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Dimuth Karunaratne's second Test century lifted Sri Lanka to 272 for eight against Pakistan after Yasir Shah exposed their frailties against leg-spin on the opening day of the series-deciding third and final Test in Pallekele on Friday.
Kumar Sangakkara laid the foundation before Angelo Mathews completed a nervy chase as Sri Lanka beat England by six wickets in the fourth One-Day International.
Australia will play their first Test series in Sri Lanka in more than five years, with a three-match series beginning on July 26 in Kandy. The Australians will embark on a two-month tour of the island nation from July 11, playing three Tests, five ODIs and two T20 Internationals. Steve Smith's side leapfrogged India in February to finish the latest 12-month period in first spot on the ICC Test Championship table, while Sri Lanka have dropped to seventh place after a disappointing year following the retirements of legendary batting duo Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena. Only three members of the Australian side that beat the Black Caps in their most recent Test series - Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle and Usman Khawaja - have experienced Test cricket in Sri Lanka.
India chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav can't stop raving about skipper Virat Kohli and describes him as an inspirational leader, who provides tremendous support and freedom to bowlers.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers on India's biggest Test triumphs, Virat's victories and Ashwin's achievements.
India would look to continue their ruthless streak
Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
Rangana Herath picked four wickets in the second innings to spin Sri Lanka to a 106 win over Australia in the first Test in Pallekele on Saturday.
Sri Lanka off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal scythed through Pakistan's batting order to pick up his first five-wicket haul as the visitors were bundled out for 138 on the opening day of the second test on Thursday.
Australia opener David Warner says flat pitches rather than bats with thicker edges are the reason batsmen have the upper hand in Test cricket.
Hardik Pandya has said that comparisons with Indian legend Kapil Dev are unwarranted
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.
India have won the first two Tests by comprehensive margins -- by 304 runs in Galle and an innings and 53 runs in Colombo.
Sri Lanka needed a little over 26 overs to chase down a 153-run victory target for a series-levelling seven-wicket victory in the second Test against Pakistan on Monday.
Hardik has just taken 10 Tests to record a rare feat -- scored a ton and taken 5 wickets. Still not 25, Hardik has shown that he belongs to the place, says Rajneesh Gupta, giving us the numbers that matter.
India were eyeing a series-leveling win in the second Test by reducing Sri Lanka to 72 for two after setting the hosts a daunting victory target of 413, riding on Ajinkya Rahane's sparkling century.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni averages 100-plus in ODIs at M A Chidambaram stadium in Chennai -- his tally being 401 in six innings, including two hundreds and a fifty, at an average of 100.25.
The No. 4 slot is considered the most vital position for any successful ODI side, yet India are struggling to find a solution to their revolving door conundrum for some time now.
India pacer Jasprit Bumrah says the zeal to learn something new with each game has helped him survive in international cricket.
He is open to the idea of discussing Sri Lanka's transitional issues with their coach Nic Pothas, but India skipper Virat Kohli will only do it once he is done with the ongoing limited overs series.
Sri Lanka captain Upul Tharanga on Wednesday asked his top order batsmen to fire against a dominant India, urging them not to throw their wickets in the second One-Day International, in Pallekele, on Thursday.
Shikhar Dhawan is savouring a purple patch, hitting century after century, but the opener won't be overtly worried if he has to face a slump in form.
Marlon Samuels' unbeaten century proved in vain as Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 19 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method to complete a 3-0 one-day series whitewash on Saturday.
Kohli ruled out making wholesale changes to the side in the inconsequential match
Reigning champion India will be bidding to gain further momentum and become only the third side in World Cup history to successfully defend its title after West Indies in 1975 and 1979 and Australia, who won the coveted prize three times in succession between 1999 and 2007.
The Pretoria wicket is likely to be similar, with perhaps not the same sideways movement of Newlands, and will provide another test of the Indian batsmen's bravery against a seam bowling barrage.
Sangakkara, who has scored more than 26,500 runs for his country, had already retired from One-Day Internationals and is currently playing his 132nd Test against Pakistan in Colombo.
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