Luke Ronchi and Grant Elliott put on a world record 267-run partnership as New Zealand recovered from 93-5 to thump Sri Lanka by 108 runs in the fifth One-Day International in Dunedin on Friday.
Currently placed at number three behind South Africa and Australia, India have an opportunity to jump to the top in the ICC ODI team rankings if they win the upcoming five-match one-day series against Sri Lanka 4-1 or better.
Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne slammed unbeaten centuries to steer Sri Lanka to a convincing nine-wicket victory against England in the ICC World Cup.
Former India captain Rahul Dravid says the islanders may not be front-runners to win the World Cup this time around, but the fact that they are a very close-knit unit gives them the edge.
Tillakaratne Dilshan scored his third consecutive half-century as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 36 runs under Duckworth/Lewis in the third and final one-day international to clinch a 1-1 series draw on Saturday.
Sri Lanka beat England by 90 runs in the sixth One-Day International at Pallekele on Saturday to take an unbeatable 4-2 lead in their seven-match series.
England will return on Thursday to chase down a 240-run victory target and stay alive in the seven-match contest against Sri Lanka after rain forced play to be suspended in the fifth one-day international in Pallekele on Wednesday.
Kumar Sangakkara laid the foundation before Angelo Mathews completed a nervy chase as Sri Lanka beat England by six wickets in the fourth One-Day International.
The 27-year-old batted five innings in the tournament, scoring a total of 273 at an average of 136.50 with a strike-rate of just under 147.
Pleased with his fast bowlers show in the 169-runs win over Sri Lanka, skipper Virat Kohi said that it augurs well for the tours to Australia and New Zealand.
Images from the second T20 International between India and Sri Lanka in Ranchi.
Pakistan opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad has escaped strong disciplinary action for his controversial religious comments to Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka as the Board let him off with just a stern reprimand for violating a clause of his central contract.
Newly appointed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shaharyar Khan criticised Ahmed Shehzad for offering religious advice to Sri Lankan player Tillakaratne Dilshan during an ODI last week, saying it was a "stupid statement" on part of the Pakistani batsman.
His coming of age at the tournament could prove to be influential in the later stages as they now do not need to rely so much on their 'Big Three' of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, and Mahela Jayawardene to provide their runs.
Colin Munro blasted New Zealand's fastest Twenty20 half century to surpass a mark set by Martin Guptill earlier in the innings as the hosts swept their two-match series against Sri Lanka with a nine-wicket win in Auckland on Sunday.
Brendon McCullum gave the cricket World Cup an explosive opening, scoring a blazing 65, as New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 98 runs on Saturday.
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six wickets to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.
India will need to win at least a game in the upcoming one-dayer series against Australia to retain their current second position in the ICC ODI Team Championships, even as second-placed Virat Kohli looks to close in on AB de Villiers in the batting chart. World champions Australia go head to head with former winner India in a five-match series in Perth on Tuesday. Australia (127) lead second-ranked India (114) by 13 points and even if they lose all the five matches of the series, they will drop points but still finish a point ahead of India.
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.
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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.
Lasith Malinga is fit for Sri Lanka's opening World Cup clash against New Zealand.
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.
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.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the Oval Test.
Sri Lanka compensated for their batting failure with a disciplined bowling performance to beat United Arab Emirates by 14 runs in a round robin league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20, in Mirpur on Thursday.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
A magnificent century by Moeen Ali proved in vain as England suffered a 25-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the first of seven one-day internationals on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews conceded that it will be 'very hard to beat India' in the ICC Champions Trophy Group B match in London, on Thursday.
Sri Lanka shot out the Netherlands for just 39 runs, the lowest ever Twenty20 International total, before winning the Super 10 match in the World Twenty20 by nine wickets, in Chittagong, on Monday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said on Wednesday that he has gone down on his knees to beg record-breaking batsman Kumar Sangakkara not to quit after the World Cup. Sangakkara, 37, will call time on his ODI career at the end of the tournament but he is still in a rich vein of form.
Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni dropped down the ladder to No 4 and 10 respectively, while Shikhar Dhawan retained the seventh rung in the latest Reliance ICC ODI batsmen's rankings, released on Monday.
Sri Lanka retained their status as the world's top Twenty20 team by beating Pakistan by 24 runs in a thrilling finish in the second game in Dubai on Friday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the first Test.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji figure out who are the most valuable players after the league phase of the World Cup intheir latest update.
Shocked by an inexperienced Sri Lankan side on a green wicket in the first Twenty20 match, India would aim to regain its winning touch and keep the series alive.
Rain and an on-field injury which prevented South African opener Hashim Amla from batting spurred Sri Lanka to a 17-run win under the Duckworth-Lewis method in the second One-dayer in Colombo on Tuesday.
Statistician Rajneesh Gupta has interesting numbers from the first ODI between India and Australia the match. Check them out.
Trent Boult produced an economical spell of bowling to take three wickets and help New Zealand to a tense three-run win over Sri Lanka in their first Twenty20 international on Thursday.
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.
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