Coming off a socio-economic crisis and the worst turmoil in its country's history, the Sri Lankan cricket team would like to provide the island nation with an emotional catharsis by beating fancied Pakistan in the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday.
Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith struck half-centuries as Australia beat Sri Lanka by two wickets in a thrilling finish to the rain-affected first One-Day International on Tuesday for a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
After an action-packed month, Aaron Finch's Australia, written off after a horrendous build-up, emerged with their maiden 20-overs world title in their arms.
Inexperienced bowling attack failed to execute plans: Maheesh Theekshana
Australia limited-overs captain Aaron Finch hopes his team can bring some joy to cricket fans in Sri Lanka amid the island nation's worst financial crisis in over seven decades.
Their winning streak halted by defending champions Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore will hope Harshal Patel returns to the playing eleven and contribute in bringing their campaign back on track when they face Delhi Capitals in the IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Andre Russell and Varun Chakravarthy picked up three wickets each to power Kolkata Knight Riders to an emphatic nine-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL match in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 28 runs at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Twenty20 International series, on Friday.
Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone blasted superb half-centuries to power Punjab Kings to a thumping 54-run win in a must-win match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
India racked up 199-2 riding blistering half-centuries by opener Ishan Kishan and number three batsman Shreyas Iyer.
England qualified for the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals with a nervy victory over Sri Lanka by four wickets in their final Super 12 match on Saturday.
SKY overtook Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan to become just the second Indian player to hold the top T20I batter ranking.
Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan was the costliest purchase on Day 1 of the players' auction as Mumbai Indians shelled out a massive Rs 15.25 crore to get him back.
Edmeades collapsed inside the auction room of ITC Gardenia Hotel
Punjab Kings buried Royal Challengers Bangalore under a deluge of runs as they kept their play-off hopes alive with a thumping 54-run victory, riding on superb half-centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone.
Left-arm fast bowler Binura Fernando will miss the three one-dayers against India after spraining his left ankle during practice but will be available for the T20 matches.
'So excited to be a part of @MLCricket @SFOUnicorns.'
Spin all-rounder Fabian Allen smashed 21 off six balls to help West Indies beat Sri Lanka by three wickets and complete a 2-1 Twenty20 International series victory in Antigua on Sunday.
India's senior opener Rohit Sharma moved a place up to 23rd in the batting chart while pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah jumped 10 places to joint 24th in the ICC men's T20 rankings issued on Wednesday.
Pictures from the 2nd ODI between India and Sri Lanka being played in Colombo, Sri Lanka
The Indian team will want Sanju Samson to translate his phenomenal talent into consistent performances when they try to wrap up the T20 International series against Sri Lanka by winning the second match in Colombo on Tuesday.
Team India will have to choose between experimenting and continuing the winning combination
Rajneesh Gupta lists interesting records from the first week of the Super 12 competition in the T20 World Cup in the UAE.
Sri Lanka registered a 35-run victory over Pakistan in the second T20I
That moment of magic was provided by one magical over from Rajasthan's Kuldeep Sen.
A depleted Gujarat Titans bowling attack will have to raise its game by quite a few notches to stop a marauding Sunrisers Hyderabad, fresh from its record total against Mumbai Indians, in the upcoming afternoon IPL match in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
When you are batting at No. 6, you need to be ready for collapse, says Deepak Hooda
Top scoring for Rajasthan was the youngster Riyan Parag who hit a 31 ball 56* which included three fours and four sixes.
Majestic cricket milestones mark T20 World Cup journey
A high-stakes match between cross-city rivals Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Chennai on Friday will usher in IPL 2024, but, beyond the grandeur around it, the two protagonists will have to find early answers to some deep questions as they attempt to enter a rarefied territory.
How the IPL teams have shaped up after the auction.
In the T20I rankings, Suryakumar Yadav continues his reign at the top of the batting charts, driven by his brilliant century in the third T20I against Sri Lanka.
Batting first after losing the toss, Sri Lanka started sluggishly and were reduced to 51-4 at the halfway mark of their innings after Richardson claimed two early wickets.
Dinesh Karthik jumped a massive 108 spots to 87th on the latest ICC T20 rankings
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list Rediff.com's 50 Most Valuable Players ahead of Sunday's IPL 2022 final between the Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals.
Sri Lanka will arrive in South Africa on Saturday, with the first Test in Pretoria starting on Boxing Day. The second will be in Johannesburg from January 3.
India captain Shikhar Dhawan on Thursday indicated that there was an option of not playing the T20 International series after losing nine players to COVID-19 related isolation but they chose the difficult route of playing with only five specialist batsmen.
With most of the power-hitters in isolation after Krunal Pandya's COVID-19 positive case, India could score just 132 for 5 on a slow track. Sri Lanka chased down the total with two balls to spare and won by four wickets.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be eager to shake off modest ODI form and spate of injuries to key players as they seek to start their Asia Cup campaign on a winning note when they face each other in Pallekele on Thursday.
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