Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka were 5 for 3 in two overs – albeit with a strange caught-behind decision thrown into the mix – and never quite recovered. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Danushka Gunathilaka did add 44 for the fourth wicket, but they crashed to 105. The swing Fazalhaq Farooqi got was the big problem, Shanaka said. Kusal Mendis

Toss Afghanistan chose to bowl vs Sri Lanka Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi said he wanted his team to take advantage of a fresh pitch. (Seamers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq would do just that, taking three wickets in the first two overs.) In general, Afghanistan went with an XI with plenty of bowling options. In addition

Big picture It’s a very 2022 thing to say, but it’s possible that Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are pretty evenly matched sides. Hear me out. Of the two sides, Afghanistan tend to play weaker teams, of course, but since 2020, they have won a T20I series against Ireland, won two against Zimbabwe, and drawn one

You have a supremely-talented batter who isn’t the modern-day definition of fit – so what do you do as coach? It’s possible that Chris Silverwood has pondered the Bhanuka Rajapaksa question a few times. But four months since becoming Sri Lanka’s coach, Silverwood doesn’t have to worry about the issue anymore, and for that Rajapaksa

A calf strain has put Dushmantha Chameera, Sri Lanka’s premier short-format quick, out of the Asia Cup. A member of the Sri Lanka team management told ESPNcricinfo that Chameera picked up the injury “three-or-four days ago” and will not recover in time for the Asia Cup. A doctor working with the team confirmed to ESPNcricinfo

Chandimal was part of the T20 squad that toured Australia and India earlier this year, but was then dropped for the T20Is at home against Australia in June. He returns for the Asia Cup largely on the back on strong performances in Test cricket against Australia and Pakistan. Left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, fast bowler Nuwan

The Lanka Premier League has been officially rescheduled to take place in December 2022. The third season of the LPL was initially slated to be held in August, but the economic crisis engulfing the country had forced a postponement last month. “It’s my pleasure to announce that the LPL will be held from 6th to

Wanindu Hasaranga has been denied a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to play in the Hundred by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and has been forced to pull out of his £100,000 contract with Manchester Originals as a result. Ashley de Silva, SLC’s chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo that the board turned down his request because they want him

Difficulties procuring insurance, as well as logistical and security concerns, were some of the issues raised by sponsors and broadcasters that led to the Asia Cup being shifted from Sri Lanka to the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka Cricket has revealed. “They felt that the situation in Sri Lanka was not conducive to garner the

A little over three weeks ago, Prabath Jayasuriya was not in the Sri Lanka squad, let alone the XI. But when Lasith Embuldeniya was dropped following a poor Test against Australia, and Praveen Jayawickrama got Covid-19, Sri Lanka needed fresh spinners in the camp, and captain Dimuth Karunaratne insisted on Jayasuriya. The two had played

In the Karachi Test in March earlier this year, Pakistan had been set a target of 506 for victory. Against an Australian attack featuring the likes of Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc, Pakistan hadn’t been too far from achieving that total, finishing with 443 for 7 on the final day as the game

Theekshana, the SLC revealed, had suffered an injury to one of his fingers on his right hand – his bowling hand – during the first Test against Pakistan, which Sri Lanka lost by four wickets. He had only made his Test debut in the second Test against Australia earlier this month, having been drafted into

Uncapped legspinner Rashmi Silva has been named in Sri Lanka’s 15-member squad for the Commonwealth Games which is scheduled to start later this month. Silva made her ODI debut in the home series against India earlier this month and is uncapped in T20Is, which is the format for the competition to be held in Birmingham.

The 2022 Lanka Premier League, which had been slated to begin in two weeks, has been postponed, because of the economic situation in Sri Lanka. A draft had been held, foreign players supposedly secured, and preparations were underway for the tournament to be held. However, problems with securing adequate sponsorship and cooling franchise interest have

Lunch Pakistan 104 for 7 (Babar 34*, Jayasuriya 5-41) trail Sri Lanka 222 by 118 runs Prabath Jayasuriya terrorised Pakistan’s middle order on the second morning in Galle, claiming four wickets for 39 runs, as he bowled unchanged from the fort end. By lunch, Pakistan were in disarray. They still had a watchful Babar Azam

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.