Chasing an elusive dream of winning their first cricket Test in India, Sri Lanka will begin their gruelling tour with a two-day tour fixture against a depleted Board President's XI, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
Veteran Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara is set to bid adieu to international cricket by the end of August, when the island nation hosts India in a three-match Test series.
The 2019 edition in England & Wales might be only 15 games old but set a fascinating pattern right from the very first ball when South Africa opened up with the leg spin of Imran Tahir.
Interesting numbers from the third day's play in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka, at Galle.
England moved towards victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka whose batsmen showed sufficient resolve on Sunday to push the game into a fourth day if not affect a result that still seems inevitable.
Ajinkya Rahane scored an unbeaten hundred but skipper Virat Kohli's poor form continued as the touring Indians put up 314 for six on the opening day of their only three-day tour game against Sri Lanka Board President's XI in Colombo, on Thursday.
It remains to be seen if reserve opener Ajinkya Rahane, the only player not to get a game in this series, would be included in place of Rohit Sharma or Shikhar Dhawan.
Sri Lanka openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva safely guided their side to 84 without loss in their second innings at the close of the second day's play in the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday after being forced to follow-on.
Shikhar Dhawan struck a sublime hundred in the nick of time as India delivered yet again in a series decider to beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the third ODI and record their eighth successive win in a bilateral contest.
India would look to continue their ruthless streak
Alex Hales and Jonathan Bairstow led a fight back for England after debutant all-rounder Dasun Shanaka sparked a top-order collapse on the first day of the first Test against England at Headingley on Thursday. England, who were 70 for four soon after lunch, had moved on to 171 for five when rain prevented any play after tea and forced an early close to an intriguing opening day in the 75th Test staged at Headingley.
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Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis combined for a 58-run partnership to give Sri Lanka a nervous four-wicket victory over Afghanistan in their World Cup Pool A match at University Oval in Dunedin on Sunday.
Ishant Sharma claimed five wickets as India bowled out Sri Lanka for 201 to claim a healthy 111-run first innings lead, on Day 3 of the third and final Test in Colombo, on Sunday.
Corey Anderson scored a composed 81 as New Zealand lurched to a three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Sunday in the first of seven One-day Internationals between the two sides before next month's World Cup.
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.
High on confidence after their emphatic victory over England, the West Indies will once again look for an explosive knock from Chris Gayle to inch closer to a semi-final berth when they take on defending champions Sri Lanka in a World Twenty20 Super 10 Group 1 match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Lost in transition, defending champions Sri Lanka will look to come out of the rut and start well against a spirited Afghanistan in their World Twenty20 Super 10 opener at Eden Gardens on Thursday. The defending champions, who were also runners-up in 2009 and 2012, have managed to win only four of their 14 matches since they beat India to win the 2014 edition in Mirpur. They are in the middle of a transition phase after Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene's exit. The build-up to the tournament was also forgettable with series defeats in New Zealand and India followed by an early ouster in Asia Cup. To add to the misery, their 2014 WT20 winning skipper Lasith Malinga has stepped down as leader of the team, following concern over his slow recovery from a knee injury. Now Test and ODI skipper Angelo Mathews' task is cutout. Having joined the squad on Tuesday, Malinga is a doubtful starter for the match. His presence in the team would impact the team a lot.
England nearly wasted a flying start before eking out a five-wicket victory in the rain-shortened third one-day international against Sri Lanka in Hambantota on Wednesday.
Skipper Rohit Sharma rose to the occasion when it mattered most as his record breaking third double hundred guided India to a series-levelling 141-run win against Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Mohali on Wednesday.
It will be another test for the Indian batsmen if the hosts have to bat first in a must-win contest, in Wednesday's second ODI in Mohali.
India have won the first two Tests by comprehensive margins -- by 304 runs in Galle and an innings and 53 runs in Colombo.
After he powered India to a clean sweep over Sr Lanka with an unbeaten ton, Virat Kohli said he was a "little worried and annoyed" when his batsmen were throwing away their wickets and demanded more application from them.
Hosts India might have outplayed them in the first three ODIs but Sri Lankan team management is keen to include experienced spinner Ajantha Mendis in the playing XI for the fourth ODI scheduled on Thursday.
Rohit Sharma blazed his way to a record-breaking knock of 264 as India trounced Sri Lanka by 153 runs in the fourth One-day International to take a 4-0 lead in the five-match series, at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Thursday. The Mumbai right-hander launched an all-out assault on the Lankan bowling as a result of which India amassed a mammoth 404 for five while batting first. In reply, the islanders were dismissed for 251 in 43.1 overs.
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
England took charge of the first Test after James Anderson and Stuart Broad took nine wickets between them in favourable conditions for seam bowling to shoot out Sri Lanka for 91 after Jonny Bairstow's excellent knock at Headingley on Friday.
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.
The loss to Sri Lanka has left England's quarter-final chances hanging in the balance and reliant on them beating Bangladesh in Adelaide on March 9. A wash-out would end their hopes.
Rain threatens to disrupt the first day's play when Sri Lanka and India face-off in the opening Test at Galle on Wednesday.
Chris Gayle blasted a quickfire century to power West Indies to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tri-nation series in Jamaica, on Friday.
Flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi earned Pakistan a three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 international at Dubai stadium on Wednesday.
The visitors have a 2-0 lead in the series and can wrap up the contest with another win here before leaving for the last leg of the tour in Colombo.
A fine all-round show by Ryan ten Doeschate powered the Kiwi side to a convincing six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka's Kandurata Maroons.
Australia stormed into the World Cup quarter-finals with a 64-run victory over Sri Lanka, fired by a spectacular maiden one-day international century from Glenn Maxwell at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
In a three part series, Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
Images from the World Cup first quarter-final between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Sydney, on Wednesday.
West Indies left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican celebrated his test debut by capturing four wickets on the opening day of the second test against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval on Thursday.
The India right-hander has 862 points in his kitty, still 25 points behind AB de Villiers of South Africa, who is heading the list.
Tillakaratne Dilshan outshone Hashim Amla's 14th One-Day International century to steer Sri Lanka to a series-levelling 87-run win over South Africa in the second match at Pallekele Stadium on Wednesday.
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