Skipper Virat Kohli's magnificent 243 was overshadowed by unprecedented scenes of mask-wearing Sri Lankan players, who halted proceedings thrice, complaining of poor air quality, on Day 2 of the third Test, in New Delhi.
The 50-year-old Lara also gave his opinion as to what the team is required to do to become successful in the longest format of the game.
Australia's key pace weapon Mitchell Starc roared to the top of the wicket-taking charts at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup - and then made it clear he has no intention of resting on his laurels.
Trent Boult and Neil Wagner quickly wrapped up Sri Lanka's second innings on Sunday as New Zealand clinched the series 1-0 with a dominant 423-run victory in the second Test.
When he wants the attention of New Delhi, the Sri Lankan president or his administration dials Beijing and Islamabad and vice versa. So petrified is New Delhi at the prospect of Beijing or Islamabad consolidating its grip on the island nation that in the last two years India has given in to every whim and fancy of the Rajapaksa government.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne missed out on a maiden double hundred but his 238-run stand with fellow centurion Dinesh Chandimal set up Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 484 on day two against West Indies in the opening test at Galle on Thursday.
A supremely confident Delhi Daredevils return to their den and have a struggling and injury-ravaged Rising Pune Supergiants in their firing line up next in the Indian Premier League, in New Delhi, on Thursday.
Skipper Angelo Mathews held his nerve under pressure and scored an unbeaten half-century as Sri Lanka recovered from a bad start to beat Bangladesh by three wickets in the concluding league match of the Asia Cup in Mirpur on Thursday.
"We will not tolerate any action that is against India's interest. They (India) have helped us whenever the need arose. They are our close friend," Sri Lankan Port Development Minister Dilan Perera told Parliament. Perera said the campaign by Marxist JVP threatening to boycott Indian goods will not be permitted by the Sri Lankan government.
Pacer Mohammed Siraj bagged his maiden 10-wicket haul as India 'A' beat South Africa 'A' by a comprehensive innings and 30 runs after stiff resistance from the middle order on the final day of the first 'Test'.
With the breaking of the news of Sri Lanka Cricket and the BCCI agreeing to a five-match One-Day International series, the Lankan players appeared to be concerned about their skills training required for the series.
Captain Virat Kohli's blazing blade ensured a comfortable seven-wicket victory in the one-off Twenty20 International as the visitors completed a 9-0 rout of Sri Lanka across all three formats, in Colombo, on Wednesday.
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.
The State Board of Medical Examiners found that Dr Santusht Perera removed a portion of right lung of 60-year-old Richard Flagg when he should have been operated on a tumour in the left lung, then lied and altered documents in an attempt to cover up the mistake.
Considered one of the greatest finishers in 50-overs cricket, Dhoni will join India's elite 'Club 300', which has Sachin Tendulkar (463), Rahul Dravid (344), Mohammed Azharuddin (334), Sourav Ganguly (311) and Yuvraj Singh (304).
Fringe players have a chance to prove their worth when India 'A' takes on Sri Lanka in the tourists' only warm-up match ahead of the hastily scheduled One-Day International series, in Mumbai on Thursday. The tour game, at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium, also provides Rohit Sharma, who is recovering from a fractured finger and shoulder injury, an opportunity prove his fitness and return to the side for the last two games in the best-of-five ODI series.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin weaved his magic with a career-best four-wicket haul as India thrashed Sri Lanka by nine wickets in the deciding third and final Twenty20 International, to clinch the three-match series 2-1, in Visakhapatnam, on Sunday.
Buoyed by an overwhelming victory in the previous game, a resilient India would look to continue the momentum and seal off their second successive T20 series win when they take on Sri Lanka in the third and final Twenty20 International, in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. India shrugged off their embarrassing defeat in opening T20 match in Pune with a commanding show in Ranchi, where they outclassed the island nation by 69 runs to level the series. The Indian batsmen had struggled to cope with the 'green' track in Pune but adjusted well on a slow strip at Ranchi, where they did not put a foot wrong. The bowlers, too, were in complete control, never letting the Sri Lankan batsmen dominate. Moreover, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy was impressive and all his experiments, be it reshuffling of the batting order or bowling tactics, paid off. India not only mastered the conditions but also executed their plans to perfection.
An England record opening partnership of 256 between Alex Hales and Jason Roy led their side to a crushing 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second one-day international.
The presence of a large number of Tamils from the troubled regions in Colombo was a threat to national security and the safety of others, Police Inspector General Victor Perera told reporters
The 35-year-old off-spinner was ruled out of the tournament after straining his bicep while playing in English county cricket.
They named middle order batsman Russel Arnold and fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara in their final 15-man World Cup squad on Monday.
Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 30 runs in the first Twenty20 International on Monday to go 1-0 up in the two-match series and extend the visitors' losing streak.
Pakistan's experienced batsman Younis Khan dug deep for his 24th Test century and his seventh against Sri Lanka to rescue his struggling side who closed on 261-4 on the opening day of the first Test on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka opener Kaushal Silva has recovered from a blow to the head he suffered while fielding last weekend to be named in the test squad for next month's tour of England.
Rajapaksa was appointed as the premier on October 26 by President Maithripala Sirisena after sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe, plunging the nation into a constitutional crisis.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews weathered a fiery spell of reverse swing bowling from Dayle Steyn to take his team past the follow-on mark on the third day of the first Test against South Africa on Friday.
Kumar Sangakkara struck his maiden triple hundred and became the ninth batsman to score 11,000 Test runs as a dominant Sri Lanka took control of the second and final Test against Bangladesh on Wednesday.
The Pune outfit is presently languishing at the sixth spot in the eight-team standings with just four points.
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.
Sri Lanka's late order batsmen held their nerve to beat Pakistan by two wickets and level the series in a match in which fortunes swung from one side to another in Dubai.
Dhoni has to ponder over both the batting and bowling departments of his team.
The exercise was carried out in the Indian Ocean about 30 kilometres off the coast of Colombo.
Sri Lanka's Kaushal Silva roared back into form with a century in the final Test against Australia on Tuesday, boosting the hosts' hopes of a 3-0 sweep against the world number one team at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.
England will be determined to get their act together against defending champions Sri Lanka.
Pakistan officials hope Sunday's match will encourage other countries to send their teams by next year.
World champions India have consolidated their top rank on the ICC ODI Team Rankings after sweeping the series against Sri Lanka, which concluded in Ranchi on Sunday.
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.
Clinical India notched up another resounding win to humble a hapless Sri Lankan side by six wickets and clinch the five-match series in the third One-Day International in Hyderabad.
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