Chasing a daunting target of 386, the hosts collapsed after skipper Angelo Mathews was dismissed for 110, his seventh Test century, and were dismissed for 268.
Sri Lanka exacted a sweet revenge on India with a crushing nine-wicket victory in the second One-day International at Hambantota on Tuesday, to draw the series level at 1-1.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was vindicated for surprisingly deciding to field after winning the toss when his fast bowlers skittled Pakistan for 165 in the first innings of the second Test in Dubai on Wednesday. Sri Lanka then lost opener Dimuth Karunaratne (32) before reaching 57 for 1 when bad light brought an end to the day's play.
India's quest for a historic treble ended in heartbreak as Sri Lanka came up with a clinical performance to beat them by six wickets in the final of the World T20 in Mirpur on Sunday. While Sri Lanka emerged third time lucky in a World T20 summit clash, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's hopes of adding a second World T20 title to the 50-over World Cup triumph in 2011 and Champions Trophy in England two years later ended in disappointment.
India are in sight of their first series triumph on Sri Lankan soil in 22 years, having reduced the hosts to 67 for 3 after setting them a daunting target of 386 in the third and final Test in Colombo on Friday.
Opener David Warner thumped a maiden Twenty20 international century as Australia kicked off their home summer with a ruthless 134-run thrashing of Sri Lanka, at Adelaide Oval, on Sunday.
A superb all-round performance by Jacques Kallis carried South Africa to a series-clinching 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka on the fourth day of the third and final Test at Newlands on Friday.
Riding high on Lasith Malinga's five-wicket haul and opener Lahiru Thrimanne's fluent century, Sri Lanka regained the Asia Cup trophy with a comfortable five-wicket victory over defending champions Pakistan in Mirpur on Saturday.
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.
A spirited India on Wednesday night recorded their first-ever bilateral ODI series triumph against Sri Lanka in their backyard as they spanked the hosts by 46 runs in the fourth cricket one-dayer in Colombo on Wednesday to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Pakistan were granted an extra review option after being robbed of a wicket due to an apparent error by TV umpire Paul Reiffel during the second Test in Colombo.
Australia's hopes of capturing the only title that has evaded their grasp vanished when Sri Lanka beat them by six wickets in the first round of the ICC World Twenty20. Sri Lanka, replying to Australia's 159 for nine in 20 overs, finished with 160 for four in 19.
'It was good fun. I was obviously really nervous. Super stoked for the boys to get the win.'
Opener Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan slammed centuries to help India humiliate Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 169 runs in the first One-Day International in Cuttack, on Sunday.
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.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday said 'consistent' performances will give his side confidence going into big ticket tournaments.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq fell just short of his sixth Test century but his team clung on to their slim hopes of salvaging the second Test against Sri Lanka after a stirring rearguard action in Dubai on Saturday.
India's batting coach Sanjay Bangar defend Rohit Sharma's repeated failures in Test cricket, saying the Mumbai batsman deserves the same patience Sri Lanka had with their greats, Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara.
Steve Smith became the 15th member of Test cricket's 10,000-run club as he and opener Usman Khawaja smashed hundreds to help Australia rack up 330/2 on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka.
Star batter Beth Mooney struck a magnificent hundred and led a remarkable Australian fightback along with tailender Alana King to set up a crushing 107-run win over Pakistan in their ICC World Cup match, in Colombo, on Wednesday.
Australia captain Alyssa Healy admitted that she was poor with her glovework but more than made up with her batting masterclass as she orchestrated a 10-wicket crushing win over Bangladesh in their women's World Cup match, in Visakhapatnam, on Thursday.
Sri Lanka shot out the Netherlands for just 39 runs, the lowest ever Twenty20 International total, before winning the Super 10 match in the World Twenty20 by nine wickets, in Chittagong, on Monday.
Australia's Usman Khawaja struck a maiden double hundred and Josh Inglis got a century on his Test debut against Sri Lanka to power the tourists to a mammoth 654/6.
'We've put ourselves in this situation but hopefully the Sri Lankans can do the job for us.'
'We have to forget this game because we have one the day after tomorrow. We're looking forward to delivering a better performance there.'
Opener Lokesh Rahul scored a fighting century as India recovered from early jitters to post 319 for six in their first innings on Day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka, in Colombo, on Thursday.
An explosive unbeaten 85 from David Miller and some hostile bowling by the fast bowlers helped South Africa to beat Sri Lanka by 56 runs in Pallekele on Friday and stay alive in the five-match series.
The hosts, who put up their best batting show in the series so far were all-out for 386 in the second innings despite twin centuries from opener Dimuth Karunaratne (141) and No 3 Kusal Mendis (110).
A fit-again Rohit Sharma and Manish Pandey slammed strokeful centuries as India A feasted on Sri Lanka's mediocre attack before registering a comfortable 88-run victory in a warm-up match for the visitors ahead of their ODI series against India at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) on Thursday.
Kusal Mendis led a strong Sri Lankan second innings effort but the West Indies still held the advantage at stumps on day four of the first Test at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on Saturday. Set a daunting target of 453 when the hosts declared their second innings at 223 for seven just after lunch, the visitors reached 176 for three by the close with Mendis unbeaten on 94.
Three-time champions India continued their invincible run to enter the ICC Under-19 World Cup final for a fifth time after an emphatic 97-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first semi-final, in Mirpur, on Tuesday.
The biggest positive would be Hardik's inclusion and the way he shaped up in these three Test matches, said Virat Kohli.
Steve Smith is the 15th player to go past the 10,000-run mark in Test cricket.
Sri Lanka used the seamer friendly conditions at Kingsmead to reduce South Africa to 80/4 before rain stopped play on the opening day of the first Test
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.
Unbeaten centuries by Shan Masood and Younis Khan kept Pakistan on course for a landmark victory in the series-deciding third and final Test against Sri Lanka, in Pallekele, on Monday. Set a challenging target of 377 runs, the tourists recovered from a shaky 13 for 2 to move to 230 without further loss by stumps on a rain-free fourth day.
Bangladesh pipped Afghanistan by eight runs in a group league match to keep their hopes of reaching the Asia Cup Super Fours alive, in Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday.
Spinners became India's worst nightmare in their first bilateral series defeat against Sri Lanka since 1997.
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.
A dominant Sri Lanka made it to the final of the ICC World T20 for the third time, knocking out defending champions the West Indies by 27 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method after thundershowers stopped proceedings in the 14th over of the second innings.