Sri Lanka

Toss Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat against Pakistan Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat in the first of two Tests against Pakistan, in what is now a tried-and-tested move in Galle, where the pitch is expected to take progressively more turn as the match wears on. Dimuth Karunaratne

The first Test will be played from July 16 in Galle, followed by the second from July 24 in Colombo. The series will be part of the World Test Championship, in which Sri Lanka are placed third and Pakistan fourth. Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva,

Reigning champions Jaffna Kings will take on Galle Gladiators in the curtain raiser for the third edition of the LPL, set to begin on August 1 in Colombo. The final will take place on August 21 in Hambantota. SLC, in a media release, revealed that the first 14 matches – a majority of the first

Sri Lanka have been hit with another Covid-19 case after opener Pathum Nissanka tested positive, taking the number of players since the start of the Australia series to six. “He was found to be positive during an Antigen test conducted on the player yesterday morning, following the player complaining of feeling unwell,” an SLC statement

Spectators have been barred completely from the ramparts of the Galle Fort, which overlooks the cricket stadium where the second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia is being played. This, after anti-government protesters had been forcibly removed from the area during the first Test between these teams. Police officers guarding access to the ramparts told

It is understood that the trio had all reported feeling unwell which led to the entire Sri Lanka squad being tested, with the positive results coming back on Wednesday. It brings the number of Covid-19 cases in the Sri Lanka camp to five, following Angelo Mathews – who was the first and had to be

Don’t panic. Keep things simple. And you don’t necessarily have to sweep (if you don’t want to). This, Dimuth Karunaratne said, was his advice to Sri Lanka’s batters ahead of the second Test in Galle. They had stumbled to 212 and 113 in the first Test, while Australia made 321 in their first innings. With

Big Picture There has been plenty of Test cricket recently that you don’t want to take your eyes off. England are changing the way people think of the game by charging their way to fourth-innings targets as though it was the most normal thing ever; while in Galle, the first match of the series was

The draft for the third edition of the Lanka Premier League was held on Tuesday evening, with each of the five franchises allowed to pick six international players, with one from each price category barring Gold and Silver. Sri Lankan players were available for all categories. The pre-draft portion of the squad selection, however, meant

Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma are having an excellent time of it in the ODI series in Sri Lanka, and have shot up the ICC ODI player rankings because of their returns in the two matches so far, both of which India have won. A day after India won the second game by ten wickets

The 19-year-old Wellalage, who is also a left-arm spinner, was the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series with nine at 22.33 and could also add depth to Sri Lanka’s batting order if he debuts. He was one of the travelling reserves with the squad for the first Test but has now been elevated to the

Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama has been ruled out of the second Test against Australia, due to start in Galle on Friday, after testing positive for Covid-19. An SLC media release stated that the 23-year-old had complained of feeling “unwell”, which was prompted the test. “Jayawickrama was immediately isolated from the rest of the

Being proactive. Being brave. And embracing the challenge of playing on spinning surfaces. According to captain Pat Cummins, these were the tenets of Australia’s success in Galle, where they crushed Sri Lanka inside two-and-a-half days. Proactive and brave, because Australia had scored at 4.53 in the 70.1 overs they’d batted in the first innings, even

Sri Lanka batter Angelo Mathews has been withdrawn from the first Test against Australia in Galle after testing positive for Covid-19. Mathews was ruled out of the game on the third morning just prior to play starting. Oshada Fernando has been named as his replacement. “Angelo Mathews tested positive for Covid-19,” an SLC statement said.

Sri Lanka’s police and army have removed anti-government protesters from the fort ramparts overlooking the ground at Galle, on each of the first two days of the ongoing Test against Australia. The public is ordinarily allowed to hold banners and placards as they view the match from the fort. These are mostly related to cricket.

Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay will make his Test debut as Sri Lanka have picked three specialist spinners in their line-up after winning the toss and electing to bat in the opening Test of their two-match series with Australia in Galle. Vandersay, 32, bowled impressively in the ODI series taking 3 for 49 and 2 for 40

Big picture Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka has already had an impact following the special scenes in Colombo of locals dressed in yellow to thank the visitors for touring during a desperate time in their country’s history. Sri Lanka winning the ODI series provided moments of joy for the home supporters, but there is a

How much will it reverse?Reverse swing proved Australia’s key weapon on the docile pitches in Pakistan, with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc able to do decisive damage in key moments in Karachi and Lahore to put Australia in the ascendency in both Tests. Starc took 10 wickets in the last Test Australia played in Galle

Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay has broken into Sri Lanka’s Test squad for the upcoming series against Australia on the back of his performances in the ODIs. Having missed the Bangladesh Tests through injury, opener Pathum Nissanka also returns to the Test fold, and is expected to slot back into the starting XI. Allrounders Kamindu Mendis and

India 127 for 5 (Mandhana 39, Harmanpreet 31*) beat Sri Lanka 125 for 7 (Gunaratne 45, Athapaththu 43) by five wickets When it started to look like Sri Lanka would post a strong total after their brisk 87-run opening stand and make India work hard to win the second match of the series, the hosts

The Commonwealth Games are a little over a month away, and Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu is under no illusions as to how important the upcoming limited-overs series against India is in terms of preparation, especially for a side that is high on potential, but rather light on experience. “We have to play the Commonwealth

Mendis retired hurt on 87 off 85 balls in Sri Lanka’s win on Sunday, having put on a match-defining 170-run stand with centurion Pathum Nissanka. But he left the field because of “meuromuscular cramps,” SLC’s chief medical officer Dr Daminda Attanayake told ESPNcricinfo, and as such, will be fit for Tuesday. Nissanka, who was also

ESPNcricinfo understands that Hasaranga has been ruled out of at least the second match in Pallekele with a groin strain with medical staff yet to determine the length of his lay-off. He starred with bat and ball in the opening game, almost carrying Sri Lanka to victory, and will be a significant loss. Australia were

Big picture Welcome back to the five-match ODI series, although, maybe, for the last time? Not since before the 2019 World Cup has there been a bilateral contest of this length in the format. For Sri Lanka and Australia, it’s an extended opportunity to work on their games ahead of next year’s ODI World Cup,

The third edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will take place from July 31 to August 21, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed. The registration of international players for the player draft “will commence shortly,” added an SLC media release. Despite speculation that this year’s tournament might see the addition of a sixth team,

Several familiar faces, as well as a couple of new ones – most notably the highly-rated Sri Lanka Under-19 captain Dunith Wellalage – have been included in Sri Lanka’s 21-man squad for the upcoming ODI series against Australia. Dasun Shanaka will lead the side. Making way are fast-bowling trio Nuwan Pradeep, Chamika Gunasekera and Shiran

Our bowling is alright, but the batting needs to catch up before the World Cup. Wanindu Hasaranga, easily the most high-profile cricketer in Sri Lanka’s T20 side now, took four wickets in the second match against Australia and brought his team back into the match. But in the end, the target was too meagre. Australia

Green, showing his trademark strength down the ground, and Alex Carey, who unfurled his array of sweeps, then added 116 for the fourth wicket to complete the chase with 14 balls to spare. The duo had been brought across from Australia’s ODI squad which will play the five-match series starting next week.

Galle Cricket Club 30 for 9 (Siriwardena 5-5) tied Kalutara Town Club 30 for 9 (Buddila 3-7)6 overs a side Two Sri Lankan clubs have combined to accomplish a truly unique feat during the ongoing Major Clubs T20 tournament, setting a record for the lowest total for a tied match in a T20, or indeed

Malinga served as bowling mentor of Mumbai Indians, back in IPL 2018, and more recently, was Rajasthan Royals’ fast-bowling coach, in 2022. The Sanju Samson-led Royals reached the final of the tournament for the first time since winning the trophy in 2008 but lost to Gujarat Titans by seven wickets. Through the course of the