Alex Hales and Jonathan Bairstow led a fight back for England after debutant all-rounder Dasun Shanaka sparked a top-order collapse on the first day of the first Test against England at Headingley on Thursday. England, who were 70 for four soon after lunch, had moved on to 171 for five when rain prevented any play after tea and forced an early close to an intriguing opening day in the 75th Test staged at Headingley.
Captain Virat Kohli and opener Murali Vijay made a mockery of sub-par Sri Lankan attack with effortless centuries as India cruised to 371 for four on the first day of the third and final cricket Test.
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.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan (94) and KL Rahul (73) restored India's dominance with fluent half-centuries as the hosts erased a 122-run lead to nose ahead in the opening cricket Test against Sri Lanka, in Kolkata on Sunday.
A dominant India on Saturday outclassed an injury-ravaged and out-of-sorts Sri Lanka by 304 runs in the opening Test to bury the ghosts of a humilating loss at the same venue, exactly two years ago.
Ishant Sharma claimed five wickets as India bowled out Sri Lanka for 201 to claim a healthy 111-run first innings lead, on Day 3 of the third and final Test in Colombo, on Sunday.
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Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis combined for a 58-run partnership to give Sri Lanka a nervous four-wicket victory over Afghanistan in their World Cup Pool A match at University Oval in Dunedin on Sunday.
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.
Lost in transition, defending champions Sri Lanka will look to come out of the rut and start well against a spirited Afghanistan in their World Twenty20 Super 10 opener at Eden Gardens on Thursday. The defending champions, who were also runners-up in 2009 and 2012, have managed to win only four of their 14 matches since they beat India to win the 2014 edition in Mirpur. They are in the middle of a transition phase after Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene's exit. The build-up to the tournament was also forgettable with series defeats in New Zealand and India followed by an early ouster in Asia Cup. To add to the misery, their 2014 WT20 winning skipper Lasith Malinga has stepped down as leader of the team, following concern over his slow recovery from a knee injury. Now Test and ODI skipper Angelo Mathews' task is cutout. Having joined the squad on Tuesday, Malinga is a doubtful starter for the match. His presence in the team would impact the team a lot.
Hosts New Zealand gave the World Cup a cracking start with a scintillating batting show as they crushed last edition losing finalists Sri Lanka by 98 runs in the opening match of the showpiece event in Christchurch on Saturday.
Corey Anderson scored a composed 81 as New Zealand lurched to a three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Sunday in the first of seven One-day Internationals between the two sides before next month's World Cup.
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.
England nearly wasted a flying start before eking out a five-wicket victory in the rain-shortened third one-day international against Sri Lanka in Hambantota on Wednesday.
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
Hosts India might have outplayed them in the first three ODIs but Sri Lankan team management is keen to include experienced spinner Ajantha Mendis in the playing XI for the fourth ODI scheduled on Thursday.
Pujara and Vijay added 209 runs for the second wicket to set a platform from where India would look to bat the Islanders out of the contest.
In a three part series, Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
England took charge of the first Test after James Anderson and Stuart Broad took nine wickets between them in favourable conditions for seam bowling to shoot out Sri Lanka for 91 after Jonny Bairstow's excellent knock at Headingley on Friday.
Rain threatens to disrupt the first day's play when Sri Lanka and India face-off in the opening Test at Galle on Wednesday.
The loss to Sri Lanka has left England's quarter-final chances hanging in the balance and reliant on them beating Bangladesh in Adelaide on March 9. A wash-out would end their hopes.
Bowlers put their foot on the pedal after a flamboyant innings from debutant Hardik Pandya enabling India to be in firm control of the proceedings in the first Test against Sri Lanka, in Galle.
Mahela Jayawardene scored four streaky runs in his last Test, as Pakistan's bowlers dismantled Sri Lanka's first innings on the opening day of the second and final match, in Colombo, on Thursday.
Barring Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, all players have declared their allegiances to IPL franchises over their respective countries' domestic sides ahead of the upcoming Champions League Twenty20.
Riding high on Lasith Malinga's five-wicket haul and opener Lahiru Thrimanne's fluent century, Sri Lanka regained the Asia Cup trophy with a comfortable five-wicket victory over defending champions Pakistan in Mirpur on Saturday.
Lasith Malinga's brilliant five-wicket haul under pressure and opener Lahiru Thirimanne's second ODI century helped Sri Lanka script a thrilling 12-run win over Pakistan in a nail-biting opening match of the Asia Cup at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, in Fatullah, on Tuesday.
Considered one of the greatest finishers in 50-overs cricket, Dhoni will join India's elite 'Club 300', which has Sachin Tendulkar (463), Rahul Dravid (344), Mohammed Azharuddin (334), Sourav Ganguly (311) and Yuvraj Singh (304).
Flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi earned Pakistan a three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 international at Dubai stadium on Wednesday.
Australia stormed into the World Cup quarter-finals with a 64-run victory over Sri Lanka, fired by a spectacular maiden one-day international century from Glenn Maxwell at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
West Indies left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican celebrated his test debut by capturing four wickets on the opening day of the second test against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval on Thursday.
As the countdown to 2018 starts, it's time to rewind those moments in sport that stood out this year.
Sri Lanka veterans Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara smashed imperious centuries to punish a wasteful Bangladesh.
A fine all-round show by Ryan ten Doeschate powered the Kiwi side to a convincing six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka's Kandurata Maroons.
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.
Jimmy Anderson is the first Englishman to take 500 Test wickets.
Images from Day 1 in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Galle.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the fascinating career numbers of players in the World Cup.
Following his impressive batting show in India's 5-0 series win over Sri Lanka, where he was named the man of the series, Virat Kohli has moved to second place in the ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen.
Stuart Broad became the first England player to bag two Test hat-tricks and Liam Plunkett claimed his maiden five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 257 on the opening day of the second Test.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
Fringe players have a chance to prove their worth when India 'A' takes on Sri Lanka in the tourists' only warm-up match ahead of the hastily scheduled One-Day International series, in Mumbai on Thursday. The tour game, at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium, also provides Rohit Sharma, who is recovering from a fractured finger and shoulder injury, an opportunity prove his fitness and return to the side for the last two games in the best-of-five ODI series.
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