The new format and a fresh set of faces, including veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, definitely helped Sri Lanka clinch the first Twenty20 International against India by 29 runs, said the visiting team skipper Kumar Sangakkara.
Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar was named the best Asian one-day batsman at the inaugural Asian cricket Council (ACC) awards ceremony in Karachi last night.
A disappointed Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday said his side was completely outplayed in the Test series and blamed the 0-2 loss on his bowlers' inability to either contain or dismiss India's formidable batting line-up.
In a veiled attack on the standard of umpiring in the Test series against India, Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday said the three-match rubber should have had the Decision Review System (DRS) in place as dodgy decisions cost his side "over 500 runs and a lot of wickets".
India became the number one team in the ICC Test rankings after they spanked Sri Lanka by an innings and 24 runs in the third and final Test to clinch the three-match series 2-0.
Following are the statistical highlights of day four of the third and final India-Sri Lanka Test match in Mumbai.
India have won the Asia Cup on seven occasions, Sri Lanka on five occasions, with Pakistan winning it twice.
If Sri Lanka win the third and final Test in Mumbai, they will not only break the jinx that has seen them go winless in 20 Tests against India, but also end the series on level terms, with some pride restored.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was adjudged 'Asian Cricketer' and 'Asian Batsman of the Year' at the Castrol Asian Cricket Awards in Karachi on Friday. Sachin Tendulkar was named 'Best ODI Batsman' while Gautam Gambhir grabbed the honour in Twenty20.
Captain Kumar Sangakkara came to Sri Lanka's rescue in the ICC World Twenty20 final against Pakistan at Lord's on Sunday. The dashing batsman scored a fighting half-century to guide them to a competitive 138 for 6 after a horrendous start.
Images from Day 3 in the second Test between India and Sri Lanka in Kanpur on Thursday.
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has urged his team to show "mental strength and fortitude" at the Twenty20 World Cup after the trauma of Lahore this year when the team bus was attacked by armed militants.
Yuvraj Singh's sensational second hat-trick of the tournament, coupled with Irfan Pathan's twin blow in the last over, handed Kings XI Punjab a one-run victory over Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League on Sunday and kept their hopes of advancing to the semi-finals alive. Put into bat, Punjab put up a modest 134 for seven that was built largely around Kumar Sangakkara's 43-ball 56, and then rode on Yuvraj's hat-trick to restrict Hyderabad to 133 for eight.
Reader Mathan Sankar sent us this pictures from Bangalore.
Rajneesh Gupta gives all the numbers in another record breaking day in the skipper's career.
Unfortunately, the day chosen for the match was the actual day of Diwali and cricket starved Houstonians were in a dilemma about staying home with family and friends or going to watch their back-in-action cricket heroes.
Rajasthan Royals did well to restrict Kings XI Punjab to 139 for six, but a flop show by their batsmen saw go down by 27 runs and suffer their second defeat in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Dejected after the six-wicket loss to England in the Champions Trophy, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara slammed the New Wanderers wicket, saying that the track was not good enough for a one-day match.
Run-machine Kohli capped a memorable 2018 by becoming the first to win the International Cricket Council's (ICC) cricketer, Test and One-day international (ODI) player of the year awards last month.
The emphatic win over India in a dead rubber gives no psychological edge to Sri Lanka and the two teams go into the ODI tri-series final on equal footing, host skipper Kumar Sangakkara said on Sunday.
Sri Lankan batting great Kumar Sangakkara and former Australian cricketer Jason Gillespie are currently in self-quarantine, following the government's guidelines for those recently returning from Europe, which has now become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sri Lanka seized control of the second Test against New Zealand on Friday as they reached 157 for two, a lead of 339 runs, at stumps on Day 3.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori on Wednesday joined the likes of Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee and Shane Warne when he became only the eighth all-rounder in Test cricket's history to collect 3,000 runs and bag 300 wickets.
Images from the World Cup Group A match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Melbourne.
Sri Lanka vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara said all his team members are safe and out of danger following the attack by gunmen on the team's bus near the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore on Tuesday morning. 'There are a few injuries but everyone is safe and all the players are out of danger,' Sangakkara said.
Pakistan clinched a 52-run victory over Sri Lanka in a one-off Twenty20 international to finish their losing tour on a high on Wednesday.
India lost in-form opener Virender Sehwag due to an ankle injury and his place was taken by the uncapped Virat Kohli, who was the under-19 captain.
Sri Lanka cruised to a 2-0 series lead with a comfortable six-wicket victory against Pakistan in the second one-day international on Saturday.
Sri Lanka have called up pace bowler Dilhara Fernando into an expanded 16-man squad for their five-match one-day series against Pakistan, which starts on Thursday. Fernando, 30, will provide strike bowling cover for Lasith Malinga, who is returning to one-day cricket after a year's absence and may not play in all the matches due to a congested schedule.
Statistical highlights at the end of third day's play in the third and final cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka in Colombia on Sunday.
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.
Muttiah Muralitharan became the leading wicket-taker in Test and one-day cricket when he dismissed Gautam Gambhir for his 503rd wicket, in the fourth One-Day International against India in Colombo on Thursday. The 37-year-old off-spinner, who holds the Test record with 769 dismissals, overtook former Pakistani left-arm pacer Wasim Akram.
India captain Anil Kumble won the toss and opted to bat in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday. Lanka called up uncapped pace bowler Dammika Prasad in place of Nuwan Kulasekera. India replaced wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik with Parthiv Patel.
Sri Lanka recalled 35-year-old bowler Chaminda Vaas for the third and final Test against Pakistan, starting on Monday. The left-armer, who has taken 354 wickets in 110 test matches, was not selected for the first two Tests won by Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by seven wickets on the third day of the second Test in Colombo on Tuesday. The hosts chased their victory target of 171 runs in 31.5 overs for the loss of just three wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday sympathised with Indian batsmen for the humiliation they received at the hands of Sri Lanka's dreadful spin combination -- Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis -- in their first Test at the SSC.
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara praised his bowlers after the team's dramatic 50-run win in the first Test against Pakistan on Tuesday, but called for an all-round improvement ahead of the second match in the series.
Pressure got to Pakistan's young team as they slumped to a 50-run defeat by Sri Lanka in the first Test on Tuesday, said captain Younis Khan. 'It's all about pressure,' he noted after Pakistan crumbled from 71-2 to 117 all out in just 44.3 overs.
Half-centuries from Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera and Kumar Sangakkara helped Sri Lanka reach 296 for four in their second innings at the close of the third day of the second Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong on Monday. The visitors, 1-0 up in the two-Test series, extended their overall lead to 472 without losing a wicket in the final session.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene smashed his 24th Test century and shared two century stands with Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera to help Sri Lanka stretch their lead over Bangladesh to 406 in the opening Test on Sunday.