Australia will play two spinners in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Pallekele on Tuesday, captain Steve Smith said, as the world's top-ranked side eye a turnaround in their poor record on the slow pitches in Asia.
Sri Lanka recovered from losing opener Upul Tharanga to reach 99 for one in reply to Pakistan's 451 at close on the second day of the first Test on Thursday.
Hamilton Masakadza scored a run-a-ball century as Zimbabwe stunned Sri Lanka with a comprehensive seven-wicket victory in a World Cup warm-up at Bert Sutcliffe Oval on Wednesday.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar says it was not a surprise that India struggled to wipe off the bottom half of the Sri Lankan batting line up since it was team's old habit and the pitch also tends to settle on the second and third day of a Test match, making batting easier.
Off-spinner Mark Craig grabbed three wickets after lunch as New Zealand completed a 193-run victory, and 2-0 series sweep, shortly before tea on the final day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve on Wednesday.
Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has also moved up three slots to a career-best 14th position among bowlers after his match haul of 10 for 153 at Mirpur.
Azhar Ali's hit a belligerent century on the final day as Pakistan pulled off a dramatic five-wicket victory in the final Test against Sri Lanka to level the three-match series 1-1 on Monday.
India hammered Sri Lanka inside four days to win the 2nd Test in Nagpur on Monday. The hosts bundled out Sri Lanka for 166 shortly after fourth day's lunch to thump them by an innings and 239 runs, the margin equalling their triumph against Bangladesh in a 2007 Test in Dhaka. Here are the statistical highlights from the fourth day's play of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka in Nagpur.
Sri Lanka look incapable of stopping India from winning a ninth to tie England and Australia for the record for most consecutive Test series wins
Fast bowler Ishant Sharma was again involved in an altercation with Sri Lankan players during India's second innings on Day 4 of the third Test in Colombo, on Monday.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal dropped hints that unlike the five-pronged bowling attack, which yielded results against Pakistan in the humid conditions in the United Arab Emirates, he may revert to four-bowler theory against India.
Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne slammed unbeaten centuries to steer Sri Lanka to a convincing nine-wicket victory against England in the ICC World Cup.
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.
Retiring home hero Kumar Sangakkara featured in a brief rebuilding act in his final Test as Sri Lanka reached 140 for three in reply to India's first innings total of 393 on day two of the second Test in Colombo, on Friday. Images from the second day's play.
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.
Ace off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday wrecked havoc and clinched yet another five-wicket haul as India defeated England by an innings and 36 runs on the final day of the Mumbai Test at the Wankhede Stadium. This is only the third time a team batting first has made 400 and then lost by an innings. Statistician Rajneesh Gupta presents interesting numbers from the final day of Mumbai Test
Here are the statistical highlights from the second day's play of the fourth cricket Test between India and England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
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.
India captain Virat Kohli shot up 10 slots to reach a career-high fourth position in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen after producing a man of the match performance in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam.
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.
Australia will play their first Test series in Sri Lanka in more than five years, with a three-match series beginning on July 26 in Kandy. The Australians will embark on a two-month tour of the island nation from July 11, playing three Tests, five ODIs and two T20 Internationals. Steve Smith's side leapfrogged India in February to finish the latest 12-month period in first spot on the ICC Test Championship table, while Sri Lanka have dropped to seventh place after a disappointing year following the retirements of legendary batting duo Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena. Only three members of the Australian side that beat the Black Caps in their most recent Test series - Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle and Usman Khawaja - have experienced Test cricket in Sri Lanka.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia, at Pallekele, on Tuesday.
Kumar Sangakkara laid the foundation before Angelo Mathews completed a nervy chase as Sri Lanka beat England by six wickets in the fourth One-Day International.
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.
Factbox on England captain Alastair Cook, who became the first English batsman to score 10,000 runs in test matches in the second test against Sri Lanka on Monday. *Born Dec. 25, 1984 in Gloucester, England. *Scored an unbeaten 104 on test debut against India at Nagpur in 2006, and made his one-day international debut against Sri Lanka in the same year. *Scored 766 runs in seven innings during the 2010-2011 Ashes tour, to help England to their first series win in Australia for 24 years. *Scored 294 against India in 2011, his highest test score to date, and was named as International Cricket Council's Test Cricketer of the Year in 2011. *Was appointed MBE in the Queen's birthday honours list.
The veteran left-hander was unbeaten on 160 as Sri Lanka reached the close of play on 314 for five after captain Angelo Mathews had won the toss and opted to bat.
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Brendon McCullum gave the cricket World Cup an explosive opening, scoring a blazing 65, as New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 98 runs on Saturday.
Sri Lanka off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal scythed through Pakistan's batting order to pick up his first five-wicket haul as the visitors were bundled out for 138 on the opening day of the second test on Thursday.
He joins an elite group of players who have made a century in their 100th Test -- the others being Colin Cowdrey, Javed Miandad, Gordon Greenidge, Alec Stewart, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ricky Ponting (both innings) and Graeme Smith.
Opener Sam Robson hit his maiden Test century before Sri Lanka fought back with four late wickets on the second day of the second Test at Headingley, on Saturday.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne frustrated West Indies with a patient unbeaten century to help Sri Lanka reach 250-2 on the opening day and stay on course for a big first innings total in the first Test at Galle on Wednesday.
India's star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin consolidated his position at the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after his match haul of 12 for 167 in the fourth Test against England.
India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain of ICC's ODI Team of the Year, but none of the Indian players found berth in governing body's Test Team of the Year, led by Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar condemned the ugly on-field altercations between Indian and Sri Lanka players on Day 4 of the third and final Test in Colombo on Friday, saying such incidents are poor advertisement for the sport.
At a loss to explain Sri Lanka's dismal performance against India, skipper Dinesh Chandimal on Monday said the 0-3 thrashing was the 'worst' Test series of his career and his team has no excuses to offer.
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 Indian captain scored a majestic 213 -- his 19th hundred, en route which he broke a plethora of records in the company of Rohit Sharma (102 no), who got a Test ton after four long years.
India have won the first two Tests by comprehensive margins -- by 304 runs in Galle and an innings and 53 runs in Colombo.
Pleased with his world record feat of eight catches in a Test match, Ajinkya Rahane credited former India captain Rahul Dravid for guiding him on slip catching and overall fielding.
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