The team heard a loud crackle. Then the scream came from Dilshan at the front of the bus. 'Get down.' Jayawardene was hit first; his sock filled with blood. Outside, twelve gunmen blocked the exit. A revealing excerpt from Nicholas Brookes's An Island's Eleven: A History of Cricket in Sri Lanka.
After guiding his team to a thumping victory in the tri-nation cricket series at Harare on Wednesday, Sri Lanka skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan said the next target for the islanders would be the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent.
Tillakaratne Dilshan's blistering century was instrumental in Sri Lanka kicking-off their campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy on a winning note at the Centurion on Tuesday. The dashing opener scored 106 off 92 deliveries as Sri Lanka beat No 1-ranked South Africa by 55 runs in a rain-affected opening Group B match.
India's successful run in both Tests and One-Day Internationals in the past season was reflected in the annual ICC Awards with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni getting nominated for as many as three awards.
Images from the first match of the T20 World Cup between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, in Guyana on Friday.
Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan is almost certain to miss the third Test against England starting next week because of a fracture to his right thumb.
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and elected to bat in the fifth and final one-day international against India in Colombo on Friday. Having already won the series, India left out Subramaniam Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar and drafted in Pragyan Ojha, R P Singh and Irfan Pathan.
Sri Lanka's bowlers ripped through a fragile England batting line-up to win the second one day international at Chester-le Street by 157 runs to tie the five match series 1-1.
Gautam Gambhir led from the front with an unbeaten half-century as Delhi Daredevils routed Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets in the Indian Premier League match in Durban on Tuesday. Stand-in captain Gambhir smashed 71 from 57 deliveries and was involved in an unbroken 97-run second-wicket stand in 12 overs with Tillakaratne Dilshan, who hit a brisk 42 from 34 deliveries.
Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara is happy to make a winning start to the cricket tri-series after beating Bangladesh but a hamstring injury to their star performer Tillakaratne Dilshan has the left him worried.
Runs continue to leak from Tillakaratne Dilshan's bat as the dashing opener struck a composed 104 to steer Sri Lanka to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the opening match of the tri-series in Mirput on Monday.
Riding on half-centuries by Eion Morgan and Jonathan Trott, England managed to compile 229-6 in Colombo on Saturday.
A look at matches abandoned due to poor pitch conditions.
Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed his second straight century to guide Sri Lanka to a three-wicket victory over India in the second One-Day International, in Nagpur, on Friday. Dilshan scored 123 from 113 deliveries, inclusive of 12 boundaries and two sixes, as Sri Lanka posted 302 for seven in 49.1 overs in reply to India's 301 for seven.
Sri Lanka will be looking to cross the 400-run mark, which should be good enough on a track that has decent pace and bounce in it, star opener and century-maker Tillakaratne Dilshan said in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Images from Day 1 in the third and final Test between India and Sri Lanka at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai.
Sri Lanka clinched a consolation 68-run victory against India in the fifth and final one-day international in Colombo on Sunday to avoid a series whitewash. Sri Lanka piled up 320 for eight with opener Tillakaratne Dilshan top-scoring with 97, then bowled out India for 252. India won the series 4-1.
Sri Lanka produced a clinical display to crush Pakistan by 129 runs in the second one-dayer and level the three-match cricket series 1-1, in Karachi on Wednesday. Put in to bat, the islanders first amassed 290 runs for eight wickets. The Sri Lankan bowlers then complemented the effort of their batting colleagues by skittling out Pakistan for 161 in 34.5 overs for a series-equalling victory.
Australian right-arm fast bowler Peter Siddle on Thursday was named the Emerging Player of the Year at a glittering International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards ceremony in Johannesburg.
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.
Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan, who scored a brisk 106 against South Africa, said opening the innings for his team has proved to be a big turning point in his career.
Left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan claimed three wickets as Bangladesh left Sri Lanka stuttering at 172 for six before bad light stopped play early on the opening day of the first Test on Friday.
Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan scored half centuries to help Sri Lanka post 221 against Australia.
Images from the Sri Lanka-New Zealand ODI tri-series match in Colombo on Tuesday.
Tillakaratne Dilshan scored a century as Sri Lanka set New Zealand an improbable 413-run target on the fourth day of the first Test on Friday.
Sri Lanka have called up uncapped all-rounder Angelo Mathews for their tour of Zimbabwe in November. The 21-year-old was selected after a series of impressive performances with the 'A team' and will compete for a place in a new-look middle order after the selectors omitted Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chamara Silva. Veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya has been rested to make room for Upul Tharanga, who will open the batting with Mahela Udawatte having returned to form recently.
Tillakaratne Dilshan hit a glorious 96 as Sri Lanka thrashed the West Indies by 57 runs and entered the final of the World Twenty20 on Friday.
Australia skipper Ricky Ponting felt too many mistakes cost them the match and resulted in an early exit from the ICC World Twenty20 after they lost by six wickets to Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge.
With his side having qualified for the knock-out stage without himself contributing much with the bat, Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag now wants to get among runs ahead of the semifinals of the Indian Premier League.
'The cynic in me wonders whether the Speaker's defiance wasn't assisted by the knowledge that he cannot possibly be re-elected from Bolpur.'
Be it the Dilscoop, which Dilshan uses to perfection or Dhoni's Helicopter Shot, cricket's shortest format has seen batsmen try new things.
Tillakaratne Dilshan blasted a career-best unbeaten 137 while Muttiah Muralitharan grabbed his 500th ODI wicket as Sri Lanka bulldozed Pakistan by 235 runs to win the three-match cricket series 2-1 in Lahore on Saturday.
Sri Lanka recalled middle order batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan into the one-day squad on Friday for a three-match series against Pakistan later this month. Dilshan regained his form in the 2-0 Test series win in Bangladesh, scoring 162 and 143 in the second game in Chittagong.
Tillakaratne Dilshan slammed an aggressive century to lead Sri Lanka to a commanding 371 for six on the opening day of the second and final Test against Bangladesh on Saturday.
Sri Lanka's squad will receive a bonus of almost $1 million if they win the World Cup.
Sri Lanka dropped middle order batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan from their 16-man squad for the tour of Australia, starting later this month.
Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan, who has just retired from ODI cricket, suggested he did not have enough support from his team-mates during his 10-month stint as captain and was "hurt" by the manner in which he was removed from the post. Addressing the post-match press conference after the loss to Australia in the third ODI last night, Dilshan lamented that two former captains gave him no support when he assumed captaincy in 2011.
Heavy rain caused the third one-day international between West Indies and Sri Lanka to be abandoned.
Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chamara Silva added 100 for the sixth wicket to boost Sri Lanka to 217 for 5 at close of the first day of the second Test against the West Indies on Thursday. After fast bowlers Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor had reduced the Sri Lankans to 117 for 5, Dilshan (58 not out) and Silva (37 not out) posted their century stand from just 101 balls. Only 46.3 overs were possible on a rain-interrupted day after Chris Gayle had won the toss.
Sri Lanka cruised to an easy eight-wicket victory against India on the Duckworth-Lewis method in their rain-shortened fifth ODI.
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