Paceman Ryan Harris captured five wickets as Australia made full use of the second new ball to break a stubborn sixth-wicket partnership and mop up the tail on the way to a 125-run victory over Sri Lanka on the fourth day of the first Test on Saturday.
Fast bowler Ryan Harris made quick work of dismissing three of Sri Lanka's top batsmen to put Australia in command on the third day of the first Test in Galle and make the home team's task of chasing down 379 runs look even more daunting on Friday.
All the five players who came out to bat in the Sri Lankan first innings in the second Test against India in Colombo scored at least a fifty.
It was a plan well executed, said Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara as he heaped praise on his team-mates for their clinical display in crushing minnows Canada in their opening World Cup match in Hambantota.
Statistical highlights of the World Cup match between Sri Lanka and Canada in Hambantota.
Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga Paranavitana hit centuries to put Sri Lanka on top India on a truncated opening day of the first Test in Galle, on Sunday. Having elected to bat, Sri Lanka were sitting pretty on 256 for two in 68 overs before play was called off early due to bad light.
The five-time champions posted a series of tweets and shared the travel plans of its players and support staff.
In form Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has identified master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, stylish Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene and West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard to make the biggest impact in the 2011 World Cup.
Jerome Jayaratne will be Sri Lanka's interim coach for the home series against West Indies beginning next month, the country's cricket board announced.
Farveez Maharoof's five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick, and half-centuries from Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene saw Sri Lanka crush India by seven wickets in the sixth and final group match of the Asia Cup 2010, in Dambulla, on Tuesday.
Kings XI Punjab coach Michael Bevan says the absence of a few world-class players will not affect his team's chances in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League, as the Chandigarh outfit has a decent combination up its ranks.
Dinesh Chandimal stroked an unbeaten 105 to help Sri Lanka to a convincing six-wicket win over England at Lord's on Sunday as the tourists took a 2-1 lead in the one-day series.
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.
Mahela Jayawardene stroked an elegant 144 to propel Sri Lanka to a 69-run win over England as the tourists levelled the one-day series 1-1 at Headingley on Friday.
Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara gave a batting masterclass in the shortest version of the game to lead Sri Lanka to an emphatic nine-wicket win over England in a one-off Twenty20 international in Bristol on Saturday.
Mahela Jayawardene struck a scintillating century as Sri Lanka thumped Zimbabwe by 14 runs via Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-marred Group B match to brighten their Super Eight stage prospects in the Twenty20 World Cup in Providence, Guyana, on Monday.
Statistical highlights of the first match in the T20 World Cup, between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, in Guyana on Friday.
Prasanna Jayawarde's patient century lifted Sri Lanka to 400 all out and England lost their captain Andrew Strauss to end the second day of the first Test on 47 for one on Friday.
Table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders will have revenge on their minds when they take on the unpredictable Kochi Tuskers Kerala in their return match of the Indian Premier League in Kochi on Thursday.
S Sreesnath may have irked Mahendra Singh Dhoni on quite a few occasions with his on-field antics, but Kochi Tuskers Kerala skipper Mahela Jayawardene is at ease with his behaviour so far in the IPL.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala captain Mahela Jayawardene was critical of the wicket after his side lost to Deccan Chargers by 55 runs with Ishant Sharma bulldozing his team's batting line-up with a sensational five-wicket spell.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala skipper Mahela Jayawardene criticised his batsmen for putting up a sloppy show and said his team failed to adapt to the conditions in its eight-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.
Debutants Kochi Tuskers Kerela roared back into the Indian Premier League with an upset victory over Mumbai Indians on Friday, and skipper Mahela Jayawardene urged rival teams to take them more seriously now.
Indian opener Gautam Gambhir continued to top the rankings chart among Test batsmen despite a poor show in the first Test against South Africa, while off-spinner Harbhajan Singh dropped out of top 10 among bowlers in the ICC list released on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene says a dream century in a World Cup final was no consolation to losing the coveted trophy and he would have swapped his ton with the championship medal any day.
The Wankhede stadium track for Saturday's all-Asian World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka appears totally different from the one on which his team played New Zealand earlier in the tournament, says Sri Lanka's senior batsman Mahela Jayawardene.
International cricketers share a much better rapport with each other due to the Indian Premier League as the Twenty20 event has given them the opportunity to know every player, feels Sri Lankan vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene.
Senior India batsman Sachin Tendulkar is one of the five cricketers who have been shortlisted for the first LG People's Choice Award to be given away during the ICC prize distribution function in Bengaluru on October 6.
Mahela Jayawardene (108) and Upul Tharanga (118 not out) hit sparkling centuries as Sri Lanka crushed Bangladesh by nine wickets to storm into the final of the tri-series in Mirpur, Bangladesh, on Friday.
Three Sri Lankan cricketers, including former captain Mahela Jayawardene, were flown in on Wednesday to prop a side struggling to field 11 fit men in the ongoing cricket tri-series in Bangladesh. Sri Lanka team manager Brendon Kuruppu said besides Jayawardene, who was part of the Sri Lankan team that played the ODI series in India last month, the other two players are uncapped wicketkeeper batsman Lokuge Dinesh Chandimal and left-handed batsman Mahela Udawatte.
England spinners Dom Bess and Jack Leach must have gained a lot by bowling in Sri Lanka in a just-concluded series but a bigger challenge awaits them against India in the four-Test series, starting from February 5, said former Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene.
Flamboyant opener Virender Sehwag on Thursday said it is imperative for India to get rid of prolific batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene early on Friday to stand a chance in the third cricket Test.
Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene warned his team-mates that their real test of character in the World Cup will begin when they take on Pakistan on February 26 in Colombo.
Mahela Jayawardene smashed an 81-ball century, the fastest by a Sri Lankan in the World Cup to set up a 210-run victory over Canada on Sunday in Group A.
Mahela Jayawardene scored the fastest century by a Sri Lankan in the history of the World Cup as the hosts crushed a hapless Canada by 210 runs to open their campaign in the mega event in grand style, in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, on Sunday.
Like Virender Sehwag on Saturday, the opening day of the World Cup, Mahela Jayawardene held centre stage when Sri Lanka took on minnows Canada in their tournament opener at home in Hambantota on Sunday.
Images from Day 1 in the second Test between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Habibul Bashar won the toss and elected to field against Sri Lanka in the first qualifying match of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Sri Lanka set a plethora of records during their massive first innings total of 706 for seven declared against India in the first Test in Ahmedabad. They obliterated England's record of 652 for seven declared to register the highest total against India in India.
Mahela Jayawardene scored a classy double century to give Sri Lanka complete control of the first Test against India, in Ahmedabad, on Wednesday. The former Sri Lanka captain batted through the third day to finish unbeaten on 204 from 339 deliveries, inclusive of 17 boundaries and a six as Sri Lanka amassed 591 for 5 in the first innings.