The Virat Kohli-led team must take inspiration from the last trip to Sri Lanka, in 2010, when India beat Sri Lanka by five wickets, thanks to hundreds from Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman.
Sri Lanka clinched the one-day international series against Pakistan after their bowlers, led by Thisara Perera, routed the tourists to secure a seven-wicket victory in the deciding third and final match on Saturday.
Hamstrung, running out of partners and his team's title defence at stake -- the stage was set for Angelo Mathews to emerge from the Saturday night drizzle and enter Twenty20 folklore but the Sri Lankan captain fell agonisingly short. At 15-4, after England had set them a 172-run victory target in the World Twenty20 match, Sri Lanka's title defence looked all but over inside three overs. Their skipper then engineered a stunning recovery in the tournament's most portentous contest that was key to the semi-final hopes of three teams, including South Africa. But the lion-hearted effort took its toll on his hamstring and Mathews was clearly struggling when he took guard for the final over from Ben Stokes -- 15 runs separating him from Twenty20 greatness and his team from a place in the last four. As a mild drizzle fell on the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Stokes charged in with a ball in hand and ice in veins to thwart Mathews' audacious bid to pull off a heist.
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.
Angelo Mathews made amends for missing a century in the first innings with a gritty unbeaten 116 in the second as Sri Lanka racked up a solid lead in the opening Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
Sri Lanka compensated for their batting failure with a disciplined bowling performance to beat United Arab Emirates by 14 runs in a round robin league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20, in Mirpur on Thursday.
Australia spinner Steve O'Keefe is aware that taming the Indians would be a 'big job' but exuded confidence that his team is capable of doing 'some damage' during their four-Test series.
How does Yuzvendra Chahal's 6/25 stand up against other fine T20I performances? Fascinating figures from Rajneesh Gupta.
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.
A magnificent century by Moeen Ali proved in vain as England suffered a 25-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the first of seven one-day internationals on Wednesday.
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
Former captain Rahul Dravid says it was a misconception that Indian youngsters are bad players of spin and insisted that they actually have incredible shot-making ability against the slow bowlers.
On a high after claiming his seventh five wicket haul, pace spearhead Ishant Sharma said that he enjoyed bowling on a green wicket with a red kookaburra ball.
A hobbling Kane Williamson guided New Zealand to 142 for five at the close of play on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Hamilton, with the hosts needing another 47 runs to seal a 2-0 series sweep.
Their World Cup build-up halted by West Indies team's sudden mid-series pullout, India would resume the preparations for the mega-event when they square off against under-cooked sub-continental rivals Sri Lanka in a hastily-arranged ODI series starting in Cuttack on Sunday.
A responsible half-century from captain Angelo Mathews and some big hitting by Thisara Perera set up a comprehensive 77-run win for Sri Lanka against Pakistan in the second ODI on Tuesday and helped the hosts level the series at 1-1.
Kane Williamson and BJ Watling produced a world record sixth wicket partnership of 365 runs to guide New Zealand to 524 for five before captain Brendon McCullum declared their second innings closed after tea on the fourth day of the second Test.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar said that India should field five specialist bowlers by leaving out Stuart Binny from the playing XI if they want to win the third and final Test against Sri Lanka beginning Friday in Colombo.
Rain threatens to disrupt the first day's play when Sri Lanka and India face-off in the opening Test at Galle on Wednesday.
England pacer James Anderson reclaimed the number-one ranking from India's Ravichandran Ashwin in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers released on Monday after the end of the Edgbaston Test.
Opener Kaushal Silva lived a charmed life on his way to a maiden Test century as Sri Lanka put Bangladesh to the sword with a big first-innings total in the opening Test in Dhaka on Tuesday. At the close of play on the second day, Sri Lanka were 375 for five, a lead of 143 runs.
India's spinners wreaked havoc on Day 5 as England were bowled out for a paltry 158 to go down by a huge margin of 246 runs in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal picked up two wickets in the last session to restrict Sri Lanka to 220 for 5 at stumps on the first day of the third and final Test in Sharjah on Thursday.
Martin Guptill struck his third Test century while Kane Williamson fell just short his 13th as New Zealand blunted Sri Lanka's inexperienced bowling attack to set themselves up for a big total in the first Test in Dunedin on Thursday.
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.
Some strong performances with the bat will help Joe Root to surge to the top and then potentially strengthen his position in the four-Test series against Pakistan, which begins on 14 July.
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.
India captain Virat Kohli fell out of the top-10 while Ashwin climbed up the bowlers and well as the all-rounders' chart
Flamboyant left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh says he felt like he rediscovered his old touch en route to a breezy 35, which played a pivotal role in India's five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup match, in Mirpur, on Tuesday.
India took a firm grip on the first Test against Sri Lanka by taking a first innings lead of 192 and snaring the hosts' openers in the second innings by the end of Day 2 in Galle on Thursday.
Images from Day 1 in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Galle.
The 28-year-old Kohli scored 62 and six not out to move to 833 points, within 14 points of England's Joe Root in a list led by Australia captain Steve Smith.
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma said the key to their triumph in the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League was sticking together as a team despite getting off to a horrific start.
Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne obstinately defied New Zealand's bowlers for much of the second day of the first Test at University Oval in Dunedin on Friday though the hosts still have the upper hand.
Images from the World Cup Pool A match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Dunedin on Sunday
Sri Lanka thrashed South Africa by 128 runs in Colombo on Wednesday to wrap up the one-day series 4-1.
Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are India's highest-ranked batsman and bowler in third and 13th positions respectively.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com highlights what Virat Kohli needs to ponder about, after the Galle defeat
Number 11 Nuwan Pradeep survived five dramatic balls from Stuart Broad to help Sri Lanka avoid defeat after James Anderson ripped through the visitors to almost force an England win in the first Test at Lord's in London.
Their frailties against quality spin attack badly exposed in Sri Lanka recently, pace bowling great Glenn McGrath said that the Australians will have to quickly sort out their issues against slow bowlers if they don't want a disaster in their tour of India to play four Tests in February-March next year. "Especially with the way things went in Sri Lanka on turning wickets, they have got a lot of work to do between now and then. The Aussies will find it tough in India unless they turn things around pretty quickly," McGrath told reporters during a promotional event.
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