Taufeeq Umar (236) hit his maiden Test double century as Pakistan turned the screw on Sri Lanka on the third day of the first Test in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. Sri Lanka were 47 for one at the close, still trailing Pakistan by 267 runs, with former captain Kumar Sangakkara (27) and opener Lahiru Thirimanne (20) at the crease.
Kusal Mendis remained unbeaten on 166 and combined in a fourth-wicket partnership of 196 with Asela Gunaratne to put Sri Lanka on course for a big first innings total against Bangladesh on the first day of the opening Test at Galle on Tuesday.
In his 40s and an active politician, veteran batsman Sanath Jayasuriya on Thursday returned to the Sri Lankan One-day and Twenty20 cricket side after more than a year for the series against England later this month.
Sri Lanka all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya says he is still fit to play international cricket and waiting for an opportunity to play in the ODI series against England later this month.
Sri Lanka named a 16-member team for the upcoming Test series against India with uncapped 23-year-old fast bowler Vishwa Fernando the only fresh face picked by the national selectors.
England claimed two late wickets to reduce Sri Lanka to 133 for two at the close of a rain-shortened first day in the first test on Thursday.
Fast bowler Ryan Harris made quick work of dismissing three of Sri Lanka's top batsmen to put Australia in command on the third day of the first Test in Galle and make the home team's task of chasing down 379 runs look even more daunting on Friday.
Rohit scored his third ODI double century, settled down most comfortably as India's stop-gap captain, and was India's most valuable player by a long mile. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the most valuable players in the Sri Lanka ODI series.
Sri Lankan batting once again promised a lot but delivered too little losing as many as seven wickets for 53 runs after they were cruising along at 185 for 3.
Kumar Sangakkara (130 not out) played the captain's role to perfection to bolster Sri Lanka's position in the second Test against India at the SSC ground in Colombo on Monday. The home team was 312 for two at close of play.
Images from the Day 3 of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Galle.
Rohit Sharma-led India's main aim would be to settle their middle-order combination and also find a perfect batting position for Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Sri Lanka were 112 for three wickets after England declared their innings on 377 for eight at the close of the fourth day of the third and final Test on Sunday.
Veteran Sri Lanka opener Sanath Jayasuriya, who returned to the one-day and Twenty20 team after more than a year on Thursday, will draw curtains on his over two-decade career after the upcoming series against England.
Sri Lanka self-tested its fragile middle order ahead of the big match, as they stuttered to a five wicket win against New Zealand in Colombo.
All the five players who came out to bat in the Sri Lankan first innings in the second Test against India in Colombo scored at least a fifty.
Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga Paranavitana hit centuries to put Sri Lanka on top India on a truncated opening day of the first Test in Galle, on Sunday. Having elected to bat, Sri Lanka were sitting pretty on 256 for two in 68 overs before play was called off early due to bad light.
Images from the World Cup match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, at Pallekele on Thursday.
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara hailed teammate Mahela Jayawardene's return to form, saying it augurs well for his team. With a weak Bangladeshi attack at his disposal, Jayawardene struck a cracking century to announce his return to form and Sangakkara said it suited his team.
A former official tells Rediff.com's Harish Kotian why Shaw deserved a lighter sentence, and why BCCI's anti-doping programme is the best in the country.
Sri Lanka were 66 for 1 at stumps, in reply to India's 642 in the fist innings, at the end of Day 2 in the second Test in Kanpur on Wednesday. Rahul Dravid went on to score a fluent 144 while Rangana Herath claimed five wickets as India were dismissed in 154 overs.
Virender Sehwag slammed a quickfire century and then dismissed both the Sri Lankan openers as India ended day three in the third and final Test on a high, at the P Sara Oval, in Colombo, on Thursday. At stumps, Sri Lanka were struggling at 45 for two from 16 overs in their second innings, a lead of 34 runs.
Muttiah Muralitharan went past 800 wickets to help Sri Lanka crush India by an emphatic ten-wicket margin on the fifth and final day of the first Test in Galle on Wednesday. Tillakaratne Dilshan slammed 68 from 47 balls, having hit six boundaries and a six, while Tharanga Paranavitana was unbeaten on 23 as Sri Lanka raced to 96 for no loss in 14.1 overs.
Joe Root returned to form with a fluent 93 to lead England to a crushing 122-run victory over Sri Lanka in the fifth and final one-day international in Cardiff on Saturday.
Sri Lanka defeated hosts Zimbabwe by nine wickets in a rain-truncated tri-series match in Bulawayo on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan ended his most successful year in international cricket by becoming the most valuable player (MVP) in the recently-concluded India Sri Lanka ODI series, with his fellow-opener Upul Tharanga just behind him.
Sri Lanka huffed and puffed to a three-wicket win over New Zealand in the second ODI of the cricket tri-series and helped India reclaim the second spot in the ICC ODI team rankings, in Dambulla on Friday.
Looking for a proper tune-up before the three-match Test series against hosts Sri Lanka gets underway, India would be hoping that rain stays away from their one and only three-day practice game beginning at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, on Thursday.
Images from the third day of the third and final Test between India nad Sri Lanka at the P Sara Stadium on Thursday.
In a commanding position after scoring 312 for just two wickets on the opening day itself, Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said his team would aim to add another 200 to 250 runs on Tuesday and bat India out of the second cricket Test in Colombo.
India cut a sorry figure on the opening day of first Test but Sri Lanka opener Tharanga Paranavitana refused to label their bowling as weak, saying the conditions were favourable for batting on Sunday.
Sri Lanka would look to accelerate in the first two sessions on Monday to score a big total and put pressure on the Indians in the first Test in Galle, Sri Lanka, captain Kumar Sangakkara said on Sunday.
A blunt Indian bowling attack stood exposed as Sri Lanka Board President's XI put up a mammoth 432 for five on the opening day of the three-day warm-up game in Colombo on Tuesday. The Sri Lankan top order treated the Indian attack disdainfully and opener Upul Tharanga (116), Thilina Kandambi (101) and Thilan Samaraweera (102) smashed quick-fire centuries to have the number one Test side on the mat.
Sikandar Raza closed in on his maiden hundred and put Zimbabwe in sight of a first Test victory against Sri Lanka on the third day of their only match at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
India completed a 3-0 series sweep against Sri Lanka on Sunday following their five-wicket victory in the final Twenty20 International at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Images from the fourth One-Day International at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
Mahela Jayawardene scored a brilliant hundred to guide Sri Lanka to a series-clinching six-wicket victory in the third one-day international against Pakistan on Monday.
TV footage showed gunmen with backpacks firing at the convoy as they fled from the scene, with several vehicles damaged and unexploded grenades lying around. None of the attackers were killed or captured, Lahore police chief Haji Habibur Rehman said
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.
With the series already in their pocket, India will look to give some of the bench players a chance but there will be no let-up in the intensity as they eye a complete whitewash against Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I in Mumbai on Sunday.
