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.
Australia's hopes of winning back respect and moving on from a ball-tampering scandal that plunged the team into disgrace face their first test on Sunday when Tim Paine's rebuilding side meet Pakistan in the series-opener in Dubai.
Part-time off-spinner Glenn Maxwell took two wickets without conceding a run in the last over as Australia edged Pakistan in a low-scoring thriller to win the third and final one-day international by one run in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Steve Smith cracked his maiden 50-over century as Australia routed Pakistan in 36.3 overs to secure a comprehensive 93-run victory in the first One-day International on Tuesday.
India are favourites to retain the Champions Trophy on Sunday but they would probably have preferred to face different opponents than arch-rivals Pakistan in what is sure to be a highly-charged final.
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur says his team is calm ahead of the big match against arch-rivals India and says he will field a wicket-taking attack on Sunday
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.
West Indies skipper Jason Holder is expecting plenty of entertainment against Pakistan when the two most mercurial sides in international cricket face off in the World Cup in Christchurch.
New Zealand secured their third straight win to book a spot in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 after beating Pakistan by 22 runs at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali in their Super 10 stage match on Tuesday.
Pakistan will be desperately looking to ensure the painful defeat to India becomes a distant past when they run into an in-form New Zealand in Mohali on Tuesday with an aim to bounce back into the World Twenty20 and pacify their bitter fans back home. Pakistan are coming into the Group 2 Super 10 game having suffered their 11th defeat to the arch-rivals in ICC's world events. The 2009 champions entered the tournament after an early elimination in the Asia Cup. On the other hand, the New Zealanders are on a roll with two massive wins over hosts India and Australia, making them one of the strong contenders to lift the coveted trophy on April 3. Another win and they will be in the knockout stages of the mega-event. New Zealand have emerged as the team to beat after the stunned tournament favourites India first up, before getting the better of traditional rivals Australia in a trans-Tasman battle.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Australia and Pakistan, in Brisbane, on Thursday.
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.
The second Test between India and Bangladesh at Kolkata's Eden Gardens will be the first day-night Test on Indian soil, making India the seventh country to host a day-night Test.
Zimbabwe recorded their first win over Pakistan for 15 years as they cruised to a seven-wicket victory in the opening one-day international at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.
Joe Root went serenely past 150 as England moved on to 427 for five at lunch on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan in Manchester on Saturday.
A record partnership by Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson gave New Zealand victory with two balls to spare in a tense third one-dayer against Pakistan in Auckland on Sunday. The three-wicket win in the rain-abridged match also wrapped up the series for New Zealand 2-0. Initially set a target of 291 to win, New Zealand made a disastrous start with Brendon McCullum out for a first-ball duck. But Guptill and Williamson restored order with a 159-run stand, a New Zealand ODI record for the second wicket, to set the side up before a lengthy rain delay shortened the match by seven overs. When play resumed, New Zealand were set a revised target of 53 off 45 balls, which they reached with two balls to spare and with the help of a contentious umpire's call.
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
With two days remaining and 17 wickets still potentially to fall, a draw looks the probable outcome, although Wahab Riaz's removal of Bell (63) and Mark Wood (4) in successive overs near the close again put the hosts in the ascendancy.
'Our fielding was not up to the mark as seen in previous matches. It was such kind of performance where we were hoping for a breakthrough rather than making things happen. The runs given in the middle overs were too much'
With home advantage comes home expectation as Eoin Morgan leads arguably the strongest England side in the history of the tournament which has seen a co-host triumph in the last two editions.
Ireland will make a giant leap when they host their first ever Test match, against Pakistan in Dublin
Pakistan, who briefly topped the Test rankings last year, have now lost six straight Tests, one to West Indies in Sharjah, two in New Zealand and three in Australia.
David Warner hit a record century inside one session and his fellow opener Matt Renshaw a maiden hundred over three as Australia reached 365 for three at close of play on the opening day of the third Test against Pakistan on Tuesday.
Keeping trusted men in key positions at Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar has become vital for Bajwa, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah took six second-innings wickets in Pakistan's crushing 133-run second Test win over West Indies in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday as they took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. - Scorecard: The wily spinner finished with 6-124 to secure his second ten-wicket haul in Test cricket after claiming four wickets in the first innings as West Indies were bowled out for 322 before tea on a weary fifth and final day pitch at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Photos of the third quarter-final match between Australia and Pakistan being played at the Adelaide Oval on Friday
England beat Pakistan by 330 runs to win the 2nd Test at Old Trafford to level the four-match series 1-1 on Monday.
Factbox on the third World Cup quarter-final between Australia and Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.
There was no shortage of quotable quotes. Here's some of the more memorable ones.
A mob attacked the temple at Bhong city of Rahim Yar Khan district of the province, some 590 km from Lahore, in protest against the release of an eight-year-old Hindu boy, who was arrested for allegedly urinating in a local seminary.
as journalists active in Pakistani media have been quick to point out, with Ghafoor at the helm in Balochistan, no one will take seriously any claims by the civilian leadership to use the velvet glove to work for peace there, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.He did not hesitate to pejorate developments in India at the slightest opportunity, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Their arrival itself was mired in drama and a mercurial Pakistan would look to bring the focus back on their cricket when they take on an enigmatic Bangladesh.
An inspired Pakistan hammered a blundering India by 180 runs to lift the ICC Champions Trophy, riding on a scintillating hundred from rookie opener Fakhar Zaman and a sensational bowling spell from Mohammad Amir.
When Hardik got injured, the challenge was to field four spinners and we thought about a few combinations (3 seamers, 4 spinners) and in these conditions it is important to take the pace off. For Jadeja, to come out and perform like that is amazing, says captain Rohit Sharma
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kedar Jadhav claimed three wickets each followed by Rohit Sharma's quickfire half-century as India registered a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Pakistan.
In order to seal the place in the squad, the duo will have to cancel their league tours in South Africa and Bangladesh.
England, who have won both the one-day and Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, play a two-day practice match in Colombo before heading to Galle which hosts the first of the three Test matches from November 6.
Australia knocked Pakistan out of the ICC World Twenty20 with a convincing 21-run victory, setting up a virtual quarter-final against hosts India to be played in Mohali on Sunday.
India's carefully devised plan to triumph in England seems to be coming undone with injuries to their key bowlers.
Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmdullah finished as the MVP in the recently-concluded Asia Cup T20 tournament ahead of compatriot Sabbir Rahman, who was named as the man of the series. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present the latest edition of the MVP rankings.
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