As the beleaguered Indian cricket team start picking up pieces after a forgettable first Test, the spotlight is firmly fixed on team's senior-most pro Harbhajan Singh whose unimpressive show in the 63-run defeat has raised question marks about his future.
England fast bowler James Anderson took five wickets to inspire the hosts to a crushing victory over Sri Lanka by an innings and 88 runs in the first Test in Leeds on Saturday.
South Africa batted cautiously to reach 98 for three as they try to preserve their 1-0 lead in the series in the second Test and final against Sri Lanka on Friday.
Pakistan batsmen Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad scored fluent half centuries as the first Test against Sri Lanka ended in a tame draw on the fifth day in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
If KL Rahul is fit, Abhinav Mukund will be expectedly left out, a strange coincidence because he was the original back-up opener in this Test squad ahead of Shikhar Dhawan.
Some strong performances with the bat will help Joe Root to surge to the top and then potentially strengthen his position in the four-Test series against Pakistan, which begins on 14 July.
Ravichandran Ashwin is the lone Indian to feature in the top 10 of the latest Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings as he continues to lead the way in the all-rounders list.
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.
Skipper Angelo Mathews and opener Kaushal Silva hit half-centuries to help Sri Lanka take a 166-run first innings lead against Pakistan and push for a series-levelling victory on day two of the second Test on Friday.
Rishabh Pant became the first Indian and only the 12th player on record to hit a six as the first scoring shot of their Test career.
Images from the World Cup Pool A match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Dunedin on Sunday
Off-spinner Dilruwan Perera picked five wickets as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 68 runs in the second Test in Dubai on Tuesday and won the series 2-0. Perera had figures of 5-98 as Pakistan, chasing 317 for victory, were bowled out for 248 in the second hour of fifth and final day at Dubai stadium.
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.
Statistical highlights on Day four of the opening cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, in Kolkata on Sunday.
India goes into the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday hoping to register their first series victory in the island nation in 22 years.
India gained an upperhand in the second Test against Sri Lanka by taking a handy 87-run first innings lead despite a fighting century by rival skipper Angelo Mathews in Colombo on Saturday.
'We have got a guy like Hardik Pandya, who is a wicket-taking bowler. Every game that he plays, on any surface, he has a knack of picking wickets. He has a great chance of playing as well'
With Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra tormenting Sri Lankan team in the first two Tests, former captain Sanath Jayasuriya feels that the newer crop of batsmen emerging from the island nation have not done proper assessment of their ability to handle quality spinners.
Pakistan fast bowlers Junaid Khan and Bilawal Bhatti scythed through Sri Lanka's batting during an exciting afternoon session to restrict their opponents to 204 on the first day of the opening Test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Former India captain Rahul Dravid says the islanders may not be front-runners to win the World Cup this time around, but the fact that they are a very close-knit unit gives them the edge.
Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada claimed four wickets each as South Africa ripped out Sri Lanka for 110 on the second day of the second Test.
Gary Ballance scored an unbeaten 104 as England fought back in the evening session to finish the fourth day on 267-8 and lead Sri Lanka by 389 runs going into the final day of the first Test at Lord's.
Hosts New Zealand gave the World Cup a cracking start with a scintillating batting show as they crushed last edition losing finalists Sri Lanka by 98 runs in the opening match of the showpiece event in Christchurch on Saturday.
Cheteshwar Pujara set a few records during his unbeaten ton.
Niroshan Dickwella and Asela Gunaratne hit crucial half centuries to guide Sri Lanka to their highest-ever run chase as the hosts defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets on the final day of an intriguing one-off Test on Tuesday.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin spun a web around Sri Lankan batsmen with a six-wicket haul as India dismissed the hosts for a paltry 183 in the first innings to gain the upperhand on the opening day of the first Test in Galle on Wednesday.
Ajinkya Rahane rated his knock of 132 against Sri Lanka as one his best on spin-friendly tracks as he predicted tough times for batsmen in the remainder of the second Test.
South Africa captain Hashim Amla remained unbeaten after his 22nd Test hundred but off-spinner Dilruwan Perera's career best figures gave Sri Lanka a big first innings lead at the end of the third day of the second Test on Saturday.
It may be Kumar Sangakkara's farewell game but the Indian team is all focused on previous match's centurion Dinesh Chandimal with leg-spinner Amit Mishra vowing not to allow a repeat show by the Sri Lanka batman in the second Test, starting in Colombo on Wednesday.
The hosts, chasing a mammoth 550 for a win, only managed 245 runs before their second innings folded in the final session of the penultimate day after Dimuth Karunaratne had been dismissed for 97.
With Shikar Dhawan back in the squad, it is indeed a happy problem for skipper Virat Kohli, who has to choose two quality openers among three.
Joe Root hit an unbeaten 102 and Moeen Ali impressed on his debut as England recovered from the loss of three early wickets to reach 344 for five on the first day of the opening Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's on Thursday.
Chris Jordan claimed five wickets as England bowled Sri Lanka out for 67 runs, their third lowest total in one-day internationals, to help win the third ODI with a resounding 10-wicket victory on Wednesday.
India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 239 runs in the second Test in Nagpur after the touring side were bundled out for 166 shortly after lunch on the fourth day.
India skipper Virat Kohli stoutly defended his five-bowler strategy, saying the blame lays with the batsmen who failed to deliver while chasing 176-odd runs in the first Test in Galle.
After starting the series with a crushing victory, an upbeat India will aim to maintain their stranglehold over an under-prepared Sri Lanka when they meet in the second ODI in Motera on Thursday.
South Africa's bowlers needed a little more than an hour of the final day's play to dismiss Sri Lanka for 281 in their second innings and claim a 206-run victory in the first Test in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
The evergreen Kumar Sangakkara struck his 36th Test century, and first at Lord's, as he guided Sri Lanka past the follow-on mark to finish on 415 for seven on the third day of the first Test against England on Saturday.
Trent Boult took two wickets in one over and broke a partnership that had threatened to take the game out of New Zealand's reach as Sri Lanka reached 264 for seven by the end of a rain-shortened first day of the second Test on Friday.
Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli warmed up for their first training session
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