Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya took two overs to polish off the New Zealand tail and complete a five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka sealed a 63-run victory in the opening Test at Galle International Stadium on Monday.
The sight of a pitch with a fair smattering of grass and premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah putting in hard yards at nets might be the early signs of India sticking to the three pacers theory for the first Test against New Zealand
With 539 scalps in 134 matches at an average of 30.39 and best figures of 5/39, Lyon is the seventh-highest wicket-taker in Tests and has 24 five-wicket hauls and five ten-wicket hauls.
The match referee may have declared the Galle Stadium pitch poor leading to an ICC inquiry, but Sri Lanka Cricket chief Upali Dharmadasa said the pitch was not dangerous by any means.
The 25 year old from Galle is the joint third fastest to reach five Test centuries, joining legends like Don Bradman and George Headley, who also scored five hundreds in 13 innings.
Off-spinner Nishan Peiris picked up a six-wicket haul on debut as Sri Lanka crushed New Zealand by an innings and 154 runs.
The biggest challenge for the New Zealand batters on their upcoming Test tour of India will be picking the turning ball and more so the odd one that skids through, reckons former Black Caps opener Martin Guptill.
The dates for India's tour to Sri Lanka next month are out.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continued to be the best-placed Indians in the batting chart, while off-spinner Ravichandra Ashwin held on to second spot among bowlers in the latest ICC Test Player ranking, release on Wednesday.
New Zealand captain Tim Southee said playing two Tests at Galle, known as a spinner's paradise, was always going to be challenging.
Boundary catches involving 'bunny hops', or multiple airborne touches outside the rope, have been deemed illegal by the Marylebone Cricket Club, with the new ruling set to be integrated into ICC's playing conditions this month and the MCC's laws from October next year.
Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya wreaked havoc with the ball to leave New Zealand on verge of a big defeat in the second Test.
Glenn Maxwell's hopes of reviving his Test career may be over after the all-rounder missed out on selection in Australia's much-changed squad for the Sri Lanka tour.
Galle has built a reputation as a spinners' paradise but Australia captain Steve Smith hopes there will be substantial reverse swing at the venue as his top-ranked team bid for a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka in the second test. Sri Lanka inflicted a 106-run defeat on the touring side at Pallekele last week in the opening match of the three-test series with the spinners taking 18 out of 20 Australian wickets to fall.
Pakistan are 1-0 up in the two-Test series having won the opening match in Galle by four wickets.
His 22nd century in first-class cricket comes on the back of his omission from the India's ODI squad for the England series and the Champions Trophy.
Kamindu Mendis maintained his red-hot form and struck a majestic 114 to power Sri Lanka to 302/7 on the opening day of the first Test.
Regular captain Pat Cummins, fellow quick Josh Hazlewood and all-rounder Mitch Marsh have been ruled out with injuries, while Marcus Stoinis withdrew himself after his shock decision to quit ODIs on Thursday.
Steve Smith is not getting unduly bothered by people's opinion over his role in the 'sandpapergate' episode
The Sri Lankan supporters and players present at the Galle International stadium gave a fitting farewell to Kumar Sangakkara.
Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith hailed his side's resounding innings and 242-run victory over Sri Lanka in Galle on Saturday as "near flawless" after the visitors retained the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy.
Between 2014 and 2019, he scored 21 centuries in just 55 Tests. Among these were seven double centuries, the most by an Indian in Test cricket. Remarkably, six of those double tons came within a span of just 22 Tests.
Australian batsman Steve Smith narrowly missed reaching the 10,000-run milestone in Test cricket during the final match against India in Sydney. He acknowledges the significance of the milestone, describing it as "a different beast." Smith's pursuit of the landmark weighed heavily on his mind during the match, and he even joked about associating the number 38 (the runs he needed) with teammate Josh Hazlewood, whose jersey number is 38. Despite falling short, Smith remains hopeful of achieving the milestone on the first day of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.
Hasan Ali, who last played a Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in July, has picked up 77 wickets in 21 Tests.
Sri Lanka stayed on course for victory against New Zealand in the opening test in Galle despite Rachin Ravindra's unbeaten 91 on Sunday.
Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was banned from bowling on Tuesday for an illegal action on Tuesday. Here are some facts on the bowler.
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood claimed the Men's Test Player-of-the-Year award. It marked his first Australian Cricket Award, with Hazlewood taking 30 wickets at just 13.16 in Tests against the West Indies, New Zealand, and India.
Sri Lanka got off to a strong start in their chase for a 268-run victory target after skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne frustrated New Zealand with a 133-run opening stand on Day 4 of the first Test.
Images from Day 1 in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Galle.
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.
New Zealand batter Kane Williamson remains at the top of the list with 883 rating points.
Lyon is just 34 wickets away from surpassing Glenn McGrath to become Australia's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests.
From January 1, 2021 to September 9, 2024 -- during which Joe Root hit 17 centuries, Kane Williamson has hit, Steve Smith has made six tons but Virat Kohli has managed just two centuries.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal, coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and manager Asanka Gurusinha have been banned for four one-dayers and two Tests for acting against the spirit of the game.
India stayed on course to make it to their third straight WTC final.
Galle chief curator Jayananda Warnaweera has been handed a two-year suspension from all cricket activities by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) after the former test player missed two meetings with anti-corruption officials.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar said all-rounder Stuart Binny would lend much needed balance to the Indian team which is keen to bounce back after an embarrassing defeat in the first Test against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter Niroshan Dickwella has been suspended by Sri Lanka Cricket following allegations of an anti-doping violation during the Lankan Premier League.
The unspoken subject of Mithya is violence, and the big zinger here is our recognition that the movie is showing us the makings of a juvenile delinquent -- perhaps the finest since Truffaut unleashed his Antoine Doinel, applauds Sreehari Nair.
