The biggest positive for Sri Lanka since the crushing defeat to India in the second Test could perhaps be the unavailability of Gautam Gambhir for the third Test, in Mumbai, beginning on Wednesday. The left-hander hit back-to-back centuries in the first two Tests of the series but was forced to opt out of the third because of his sister's wedding.
'Mystery' spinner Ajantha Mendis went into the second Test against India with a reputation to protect, but was stripped off his cloak of enigma after 19 futile overs.
'Dhoni was a very shrewd captain in terms of his out of the box thinking and getting the work done.'
Sam Curran grabbed four top Indian wickets in the first innings and gave his team a precious 13-run lead despite a century by Indian skipper Kohli.
Sri Lanka has put more distance between it and England following its 2-0 series victory over Pakistan, which concluded with a draw in the third Test in Colombo on Friday. Kumar Sangakkara's side, which remains in fourth position, gained three ratings points and moved to 111, stretching its lead over fifth-placed England to 10 points and bringing it within just six of India, which currently occupies third position on the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table.
Sri Lanka Cricket's selection committee chairman Aravinda de Silva stood by his panel and took full responsibility for making last-minute changes to the team for the ICC World Twenty20. "All decisions were taken in the best interest of the team and we take responsibility," de Silva, the hero of Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup win, said. He replaced the committee headed by Kapila Wijegoonawardana. Wijegoonawardana's committee was sacked by the Sports Ministry just a few days before the team departed. De Silva's committee, which also included Kumar Sangakkara, made changes to the squad picked by the previous committee. Sri Lanka fared poorly and failed to make it to the semifinals in a woeful defence of their title won in 2014.
Pakistan Punjab governor Salmaan Tahseer, Governor of Pakistan's Punjab province on Tuesday, said the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus in Lahore was similar to the Mumbai's 26/11 attack. Four Pakistan players -- Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana -- were injured after armed gunmen attacked the team bus and hurled grenades as they made their way to the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore to take part in the second Test.
Sri Lanka have named three uncapped players in their 15-man squad for the first Test against Pakistan on July 4.
Mahela Jayawardene scored four streaky runs in his last Test, as Pakistan's bowlers dismantled Sri Lanka's first innings on the opening day of the second and final match, in Colombo, on Thursday.
Sri Lanka has been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during its 38-run defeat against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy match at the Wanderers.
India's bowlers have been leaking runs in the last few matches and Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara is looking to exploit that weakness in the tri-series final in Mirpur, Bangladesh, on Wednesday.
The winning momentum back after their three successive wins, India would seek to maintain their supremacy over Sri Lanka and start the season on a positive note when they take on the islanders in the final of the cricket tri-series in Mirpur on Wednesday.
Tillakeratne Dilshan and Ajantha Mendis led Sri Lanka to a 55-run win over hosts South Africa as the opening match of the Champions Trophy was decided by the Duckworth-Lewis scoring method on Tuesday.
Tillakaratne Dilshan's blistering century was instrumental in Sri Lanka kicking-off their campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy on a winning note at the Centurion on Tuesday. The dashing opener scored 106 off 92 deliveries as Sri Lanka beat No 1-ranked South Africa by 55 runs in a rain-affected opening Group B match.
Shikhar Dhawan continues his golden run in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara is happy to make a winning start to the cricket tri-series after beating Bangladesh but a hamstring injury to their star performer Tillakaratne Dilshan has the left him worried.
Rohit Sharma is set to play at number three in the first Test against Sri Lanka beginning on Wednesday but Sunil Gavaskar feels India captain Virat Kohli should bat at the crucial position.
Indian opener Gautam Gambhir capped a memorable 2009 by ending the year as the No 1 Test batsman in the ICC rankings issued on Thursday.
Bhajji, Afridi among 8 ambassadors for ICC Champions Trophy
Images from the first One-Day International between India and Sri Lanka in Rajkot, on Tuesday.
Indian players failed to make a mark as Australians and South Africans swept the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Annual Awards with Steve Smith clinching the coveted trophies of Cricketer of the Year and the Test Cricketer of the Year.
India became the number one team in the ICC Test rankings after they spanked Sri Lanka by an innings and 24 runs in the third and final Test to clinch the three-match series 2-0.
If Sri Lanka win the third and final Test in Mumbai, they will not only break the jinx that has seen them go winless in 20 Tests against India, but also end the series on level terms, with some pride restored.
Images from Day 3 in the second Test between India and Sri Lanka in Kanpur on Thursday.
Mahela Jayawardene, batting with three stitches in his left hand, ignored the pain to complete his 32nd Test hundred and put Sri Lanka firmly in the driving seat in the second Test against Pakistan in Dubai on Thursday.
Alastair Cook, as unflappable as ever, led from the front in the final innings of his record-breaking Test career as England built a commanding 154-run lead over India at the Oval on Sunday.
Sri Lanka were 183 for three at the close on the fourth day of the third and final Test against Pakistan needing another 309 runs for victory.
As India and Sri Lanka get set to duel in the make-shift ODI series, starting Sunday, Rajneesh Gupta gives us a look at how both teams stand in One-dayers.
Sri Lanka face a selection dilemma over their wicketkeeper as they gear-up for a tough three-Test series against Pakistan starting in Galle on Saturday. With regular wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene out with a fractured finger, Sangakarra now faces the choice of captaining the side, batting at number three and also keeping wicket, an exhausting prospect in Sri Lanka's hot and humid climate.
Pakistan skipper Younis Khan has jumped six places to become the number one ranked Test batsman after his mammoth 313 in the drawn first Test against Sri Lanka. Younis, who became only the third Pakistan player to score a Test triple hundred on Tuesday, overtook West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul at the top of the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings, released on Thursday.
The already depleted Sri Lanka team on Monday suffered another blow with left arm fast bowler Binura Fernando being ruled out of the T20 series against India after sustaining a hamstring injury.
And congratulations were in store for the team.
Yuvraj Singh's sensational second hat-trick of the tournament, coupled with Irfan Pathan's twin blow in the last over, handed Kings XI Punjab a one-run victory over Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League on Sunday and kept their hopes of advancing to the semi-finals alive. Put into bat, Punjab put up a modest 134 for seven that was built largely around Kumar Sangakkara's 43-ball 56, and then rode on Yuvraj's hat-trick to restrict Hyderabad to 133 for eight.
Muttiah Muralitharan swapped spin wizardry for batting fireworks, smashing 33 runs from 16 balls to guide Sri Lanka to a two-wicket win over Bangladesh in the tri-series final on Friday.
All-rounder JP Duminy claimed a hat-trick as South Africa stormed into the World Cup semi-finals with a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
The ICC hailed the 11th cricket World Cup the 'most popular ever.'
Sri Lanka seized control of the second Test against New Zealand on Friday as they reached 157 for two, a lead of 339 runs, at stumps on Day 3.
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.
Rajasthan Royals did well to restrict Kings XI Punjab to 139 for six, but a flop show by their batsmen saw go down by 27 runs and suffer their second defeat in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
India captain Anil Kumble won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in the second Test in Galle on Thursday. Both the teams have fielded unchanged sides, that played in the first Test in Colombo.
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