A woeful India out of the equation, Australia and Sri Lanka will battle it out in best-of-three finals with the spirited islanders well-equipped to upstage the hosts in the summit clashes starting on Sunday.
Lasith Malinga became the first bowler to take three One-day international hat-tricks as Sri Lanka beat Australia by four wickets in the fifth and final match of their series on Monday.
Sri Lanka dropped veteran Sanath Jayasuriya and spinner Ajantha Mendis from their 15-member squad for the Asia Cup tournament starting in Colombo from June 15.
India medium pacer R Vinay Kumar is not on anyone's mind and he would just like it the way it is as long as his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni keeps turning to him and batsmen keep nibbling at his swinging deliveries.
It was the first ever tie between India and Sri Lanka in the history of One-day Internationals.
Lasith Malinga claimed five wickets as Sri Lanka beat Scotland by 183 runs in the one-day international tri-series, also featuring Ireland, at the Grange Cricket Club ground in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
However, Mumbai will take heart from the fact that they defeated defending champions Chennai Super Kings, their first loss in four games, in the last match.
Indian youngster Virat Kohli emerged as the top batsman in One-Day Internationals in 2011, while Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga took home the bowling honours.
With Jasprit Bumrah "ready and roaring" after an injury scare, Mumbai Indians will fancy their chances against an erratic Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two star-studded teams square off in the IPL, in Bengaluru, on Thursday. The big sub-plot of the contest will be the world's best ODI batsman -- Virat Kohli -- taking guard against the world's best ODI bowler -- Bumrah -- in a format notorious for its unpredictability.
Workload management of pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be the focus when Mumbai Indians take on a renamed Delhi Capitals in their first match of the 12th Indian Premier League in Mumbai on Sunday.
Deccan Chargers skipper Kumar Sangakkara said playing for the nation is supreme but country vs club situation could be avoided if a window is created for the Indian Premier League in the ICC's FTP calender.
Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga rubbished suggestions that he retired from Test cricket to able to earn some quick money by playing in cash-awash tournaments such as Indian Premier League.
Sri Lankan speedster Lasith Malinga on Tuesday blamed the country's cricket administration led by the former captain Arjuna Ranatunga for aggravating his knee injury that forced him to retire from Test cricket.
'You can't allow good players like Chahal to enter the game when there's pressure on. We played a good game but just made a couple of silly mistakes.'
Kolkata Knight Riders will be desperate to press the reset button and snap their three-match losing streak when they face Chennai Super Kings in the IPL match in Kolkata on Sunday.
After lining up on opposite sides in the memorable World Cup final earlier this month, Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga, playing as a combined unit for Mumbai Indians, pose a major threat for a struggling Kochi Tuskers Kerala in an IPL match in Mumbai on Friday.
Sri Lankan speedster Lasith Malinga, who grabbed Indian Premier League season 4's first five-wiclet haul, on Sunday said that he is not intimidated by any of the world-class batsmen in action at the IPL, including Delhi dasher Virender Sehwag.
Lasith Malinga bowled yorkers at will as his deadly five-wicket burst helped Mumbai Indians crush Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match in New Delhi on Sunday.
Check out how these cricketers decorate their bodies.
Sri Lanka's young team are good enough to be competitive in the One-day tri-series in Bangladesh this month, coach Trevor Bayliss said on Sunday.
The total they put on board didn't seem like a winning one but Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh said gamechanger Lasith Malinga proved to be the key as his depleted team lifted the Champions League Twenty20 trophy by beating the more fancied Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Bikash Mohapatra believes that South Africa's Dale Steyn's secret of success lies in him bowling in short spells.
Having clinched a nail-biting victory over Chennai Super Kings, the Harbhajan Singh-led, Mumbai Indians will be hoping to continue their winning run in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament when they take on Trinidad and Tobago in Bangalore on Saturday.
Having clinched a nail-biting victory over Chennai Super Kings, the Harbhajan Singh-led, Mumbai Indians will be hoping to continue their winning run in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament when they take on Trinidad and Tobago in Bangalore on Saturday.
Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga, on Thursday, backed his Mumbai Indians team-mate Sachin Tendulkar's idea of revamping the ODIs, by splitting 50 overs into four innings and said it will give bowlers a chance to reverse swing the ball quite often and negate batsmen's advantage.
Skipper Kumara Sangakkara couldn't thank Lasith Malinga enough after the slinger brought Sri Lanka's World Cup campaign back on track with a solid bowling performance in their Group A match against Kenya in Colombo on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga became the first man to bag two hat-tricks in World Cups when he skittled out three Kenyan tail-enders in their Group A match on Tuesday. He finished with figures of 6 for 38.
Sri Lanka's Twenty20 captain and strike bowler Lasith Malinga has hinted that he might call time on his international career after the International Cricket Council World T20 in India as he is finding it difficult to manage a grave knee injury.
Sri Lanka have named Tillakaratne Dilshan as captain after deciding to rest several senior players for their tri-series in Zimbabwe in June. Normal captain Kumar Sangakkara, vice-captain Muttiah Muralitharan, former captain Mahela Jayawardene and fast bowler Lasith Malinga were all rested for the three-nation tournament.
Images from the ICC World Twenty20 Super Eights match between India and Sri Lanka, in St Lucia, on Tuesday.
In 2011 on April 2, India defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets at the Wankhede Stadium in the final to lift their second ODI World Cup.
Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga put on a One-day International record 132 runs for the ninth wicket to fire Sri Lanka to a remarkable one-wicket victory over Australia on Wednesday.
After 44 matches, Lasith Malinga is now IPL-IV's most valuable player with a MVPI of 454.
Paul Valthaty continues to be IPL 4's most valuable player (MVPI 376), but Lasith Malinga (350), with the purple cap and Virat Kohli (327), with his newly-earned orange cap, are fast rising up the ranks.
Habibul Bashar won the toss and elected to field against Sri Lanka in the first qualifying match of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Battling back spasms and forgettable batting form, he led fellow warriors to do a miracle in the middle.
With World Cup final barely hours away, here's a look at the key clashes between the two Asian giants.
Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay will replace the injured Lasith Malinga in Sri Lanka's cricket squad for the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 in India.
Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar was seen sporting a new look at India's practice session in Motera on Tuesday. Taking a cue from some of his teammates, the master batsmen dyed his curly locks brown.
Images from the World Cup match between Kenya and Sri Lanka played in Colombo on Tuesday.
