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.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal is hoping that senior spinner Rangana Herath will be more effective in the second Test against India as the track, in Nagpur, has less grass as compared to Eden Gardens.
Sri Lanka off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal scythed through Pakistan's batting order to pick up his first five-wicket haul as the visitors were bundled out for 138 on the opening day of the second test on Thursday.
Potent England pace bowling after an unbeaten 155 from Moeen Ali put Alastair Cook's side in complete control on a one-sided second day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Durham on Saturday.
'All you need is that players are in the frame of mind so that they can be at their best. After you take the field, you are expected to take over and adapt to situations'
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.
Factbox on England captain Alastair Cook, who became the first English batsman to score 10,000 runs in test matches in the second test against Sri Lanka on Monday. *Born Dec. 25, 1984 in Gloucester, England. *Scored an unbeaten 104 on test debut against India at Nagpur in 2006, and made his one-day international debut against Sri Lanka in the same year. *Scored 766 runs in seven innings during the 2010-2011 Ashes tour, to help England to their first series win in Australia for 24 years. *Scored 294 against India in 2011, his highest test score to date, and was named as International Cricket Council's Test Cricketer of the Year in 2011. *Was appointed MBE in the Queen's birthday honours list.
Sri Lanka's seamers shared eight wickets to vindicate captain Angelo Mathews's decision to bowl after winning the toss as Bangladesh were shot out for 232 on the opening day of the first Test in Dhaka on Monday. In reply, the tourists were 60 for no loss when stumps were drawn, with Dimuth Karunaratne unbeaten on 28 and Kaushal Silva on 30.
Opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad struck his maiden Test hundred but Pakistan's hopes of a series-equalling victory looked distant on the third day of the third and final Test on Saturday.
Galle has built a reputation as a spinners' paradise but Australia captain Steve Smith hopes there will be substantial reverse swing at the venue as his top-ranked team bid for a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka in the second test. Sri Lanka inflicted a 106-run defeat on the touring side at Pallekele last week in the opening match of the three-test series with the spinners taking 18 out of 20 Australian wickets to fall.
Rangana Herath picked four wickets in the second innings to spin Sri Lanka to a 106 win over Australia in the first Test in Pallekele on Saturday.
With Pakistan chasing 136 for victory, the 39-year-old left arm spinner showed his class with a match-winning six for 43 in the second innings for a match haul of 11 wickets.
Kumar Sangakkara remained unbeaten after a sparkling half-century as Sri Lanka responded well to the challenge of scoring 370 runs in four sessions in order to win the first Test against South Africa on Saturday.
Images of the third Test between India and Sri Lanka being played in Colombo
Images from the opening day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, on Thursday.
Ashwin moves into top-10, Dhawan in career-high 32nd spot in the latest ICC Test rankings
Chasing an elusive dream of winning their first cricket Test in India, Sri Lanka will begin their gruelling tour with a two-day tour fixture against a depleted Board President's XI, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
- Mahela Jayawardene struck his seventh double hundred and Kithuruwan Vithanage reached his maiden century as Sri Lanka toyed with Bangladesh's toothless attack before declaring their first innings on a mammoth 730 for six in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was vindicated for surprisingly deciding to field after winning the toss when his fast bowlers skittled Pakistan for 165 in the first innings of the second Test in Dubai on Wednesday. Sri Lanka then lost opener Dimuth Karunaratne (32) before reaching 57 for 1 when bad light brought an end to the day's play.
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.
Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq steadied the Pakistan second innings with an unbroken 113-run stand after their team appeared to be heading for a heavy defeat by losing three quick wickets in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Friday.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne missed out on a maiden double hundred but his 238-run stand with fellow centurion Dinesh Chandimal set up Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 484 on day two against West Indies in the opening test at Galle on Thursday.
India would look to continue their ruthless streak
Sri Lanka took the upper hand after the third day of the opening Test at Galle on Friday, reducing Pakistan to 118-5 after Kaushal Silva's second Test century took the hosts to 300 in their first innings.
Kumar Sangakkara celebrated his 350th one day international appearance with a career-best 169 on Saturday as Sri Lanka crushed South Africa by 180 runs at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Images from the World Cup Pool A match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Dunedin on Sunday
Dinesh Chandimal completed a fine century as Sri Lanka continued to hold up England's bid to clinch the series by moving on to 403 for six at lunch on the fourth day of the second test in Durham on Monday. The touring side, crushed in the opening test and bowled out for 101 in the first innings, are six runs ahead in the match after losing only one wicket in the morning session.
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.
South Africa reclaimed top spot in the Test rankings after grimly hanging on for a draw in the second and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, on Monday to win the series 1-0.
Opener Dean Elgar struck a magnificent century for South Africa but Sri Lanka came back strongly with four wickets in the final session to balance the scales on the opening day of the first Test on Wednesday.
Paceman Dushmantha Chameera took career-best figures with aggressive short-pitched bowling to give Sri Lanka a slight advantage at the close of play on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Saturday.
Debutant fast bowler Bilawal Bhatti dismissed experienced duo Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene in consecutive deliveries as Pakistan strengthened their hold on the first Test against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
'We have got a guy like Hardik Pandya, who is a wicket-taking bowler. Every game that he plays, on any surface, he has a knack of picking wickets. He has a great chance of playing as well'
Kumar Sangakkara blasted a career-best 169 to help Sri Lanka crush South Africa by a huge margin of 180 runs in the first One-Day International, in Colombo, on Saturday.
With Shikar Dhawan back in the squad, it is indeed a happy problem for skipper Virat Kohli, who has to choose two quality openers among three.
England will be determined to get their act together against defending champions Sri Lanka.
Nathan Lyon is pleased to have bagged the prized wicket of 'head of the snake' Virat Kohli.
After starting the series with a crushing victory, an upbeat India will aim to maintain their stranglehold over an under-prepared Sri Lanka when they meet in the second ODI in Motera on Thursday.
The pressure will be on former captain Tillakaratne Dilshan to continue to play a pivotal role for Sri Lanka.
Openers Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene hit centuries to power Sri Lanka to a crushing 161-run victory against India in the third match of the tri-nation series in Jamaica, on Tuesday.
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