SL vs AUS | Three more Sri Lankan players tested positive ahead of second Test
SL vs AUS | Praveen Jayawickrama found Covid-19 positive ahead of second Test
IND vs SL | 1st Test | As Virat gets dismissed on 45, prediction tweet goes viral
Spin twins Mendis, Embuldeniya blow West Indies away as Sri Lanka sweep series 2-0
Twin five-wicket hauls from Lasith Embuldeniya and Ramesh Mendis swept West Indies away for a mere 132 in the second innings and helped Sri Lanka to enforce a clean sweep in a two-match long Test series. Chasing a tough target of 297 runs, West Indies were already on the brink having lost the top five batsmen before reaching 100 runs. The pair of Jermaine Blackwood and Nkrumah Bonner provided resilience with the bat but could only delay what was inevitable on the final day of the Test match in Galle. Earlier on the first day, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. The top-order comprising of Pathum Nissanka and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne ratified the call with a big century opening partnership. However, their acts were not supported by the middle order and the hosts slipped to 204 all out from 106/0 to lose all the advantage. Veerasammy Permaul and Jomel Warrican were the chief destructors for West Indies as they shared nine wickets between them with the former picking up a five-wicket haul. The story was somewhat similar for the Windies with the bat as the top order putting up a strong performance and guiding the team past the 204-run mark. However, all batsmen including the skipper Kraigg Brathwaite wasted their hard-earned starts and could not make big scores and hence the tourists could manage a lead of only 49 runs. The hosts were up and ready with the second bout of battle as Dhananjaya de Silva produced a wonderful century and along with Nissanka, took Sri Lanka to a big score. They posted 345 in their second innings and Sri Lanka asked West Indies to chase 297 runs in the final innings. Their spinners, however, were too good for the conditions and the West Indies batting lineup and they could not muster any sort of big scores to challenge the hosts. Dhananjaya de Silva was adjudged player of the match for his big hundred in the second innings while Ramesh Mendis was adjudged player of the series for his 18-wicket stint with the ball.
SL vs WI | 2nd Test | Day 4: Dhananjaya de Silva’s ton puts Sri Lanka in front
Sri Lanka might have lost a few early wickets in the second innings of the second Test against West Indies in Galle but Pathum Nissanka fifty and Dhananjaya de Silva’s unbeaten ton has kept them ahead in this encounter as well. The home side was 328/8, leading by 279 runs when the stumps were called on Day 4 with De Silva (153*) and Lasith Embuldeniya (25*) still at the crease. For the West Indies, Veerasammy Permaul has already picked up three wickets at the cost of 100 runs in 39 overs. The Caribbean side missed a trick when they reduced Sri Lanka to 221/8 but an unbeaten stand of 107 runs between De Silva and Embuldeniya for the ninth wicket pushed the visitors on the back foot once again. Earlier, the visitors had taken a first innings lead as the first bowled out Sri Lanka for 204 and then managed to score 253, courtesy a half-century from Brathwaite. But it was Ramesh Mendis who stole away the show after picking up six wickets in the first innings. Sri Lanka presently lead the two-match series 1-0 after they defeated West Indies by 187 runs in the first clash in Galle.
SL vs WI | 1st Test: Embulduniya takes Lanka to victory after great resistance by Bonner and Da Silva
Lasith Embuldiya was able to break the resistance of the Windies lower order as he slid past the tail after breaking through two crucial partnerships involving Nkrumah Bonner, who eventually remained unbeaten on 68 off 20 balls. West Indies started positively from their overnight score of 52-6 and both Bonner and his partners at the other end, Joshua Da Silva played some beautiful shots indeed 66 runs to their existing 34 run partnership to complete a 100 run partnership for the seventh wicket, taking West Indies from 18-6 to 118. However, Lasith Embulduniya broke through just ahead of the Lunch and git Da Silva out for 54 off 129 balls. Bonner then tried to stick together yet another partnership with Rahkeem Cornwall. The two added 31 runs for the eighth wicket but most importantly played out 14 overs and were threatening to take the game to a draw especially with the clouds around the stadium darkening with each passing ball. But even under threat of rain and the dogged approach by Cornwall and Bonner, the left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama, who hadn’t picked nay wicket in the fourth innings till then, got Cornwall caught by Suranga Lakmal and thus broke the partnership. Post that, Embulduniya picked the last two wickets of Jomel Warrican and Shanon Gabriel to get West Indies all out for 160. Courtesy of the last two wickets Embulduniya completed his fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket. The 25-year-old also equalled Ajanatha Mendis’ record for the second-fastest 50 wickets in test cricket for a Sri Lankan bowler as he reached the milestone in this Test, only his 12th of the career. Dilruwan Perera is the fastest Sri Lankan to reach 50 wickets as he reached the milestone in 11 Tests. The second Test between the two nations will begin on November 29 at the same venue. Sri Lanka would look to do a clean sweep and strengthen their position in the World Test Championship 2021-23.
SL vs WI | 1st Test | Day- 4: Ramesh Mendis spins a web around Windies batters, gets Lanka on brink of victory
The Sri Lankan spinners look threateningly beautiful on the Glle wicket which was proving to be a graveyard for the West Indies top order. The ball which got the wicket of Jason, Holder which was also the last wicket to fall on day four of the first Test between the two sides, was a perfect example of a straighter one from an off-spinner. It straightened ever so slightly and clipped the off stump that Holder stood holding the pose in disbelief. It was indeed a beauty of a ball. However, to Holder’s wicket, five other Windies batter had fallen to spin, a series of dismissals that started on the team score of only three runs in the fourth innings, chasing a target of 348. The first to go was the Caribbean skipper Kraigg Brathwaite who was trapped in front by Mendis. Jermaine Blackwood, the next most experienced pure batter in the team fell next as he was caught by Angelo Mathews off Lasith Embulduniya. The second wicket fell on the fourth ball of the seventh over at the team score of 11, but what transpired in the next five overs threatened to get West Indies bowled out for probably the lowest total in Test history as they lost the next four wickets with just an addition of seven runs. Mendis was the wrecker in chief, claiming three out of the four wi kets. From 11-1, the Windies were 18-6 in a span of 30 balls. However, after this storm, there was finally some resistance as Joshua da Silva and Nkrumah Bonner put up unbeaten 34 runs for the seventh wicket and saw the Windies through the fourth day. The day was called early due to bad light and Sri Lankan bowlers will get another go on day five of the Test. With only four wickets left, it would be interesting to see how West Indies fare in their resistance. Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka bowlers rolled over the West Indian first innings with meagre addition of thor overnight total of 224-9. Batting in their second innings, skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and experienced Mathews guided the team to 190 in just 40 overs and gave their bowlers a real shot at getting 10 wickets in the remaining overs. Karunaratne scored 83 off 104 balls while Mathews made an unbeaten 69 off 84 balls.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Test series: 5 big factors that will decide the series
Last time Sri Lanka toured South Africa, the world witnessed one of the most unexpected outcomes from a Test series. First, Kusal Perera played an all-time classic innings to achieve a most unexpected victory for his team in the first Test and then, a clinical performance in the second gave the Lankans their first-ever Test series win in South Africa. Now, as the Sri Lankans return, the Proteas are still trying to recover from the devastation caused to them in the year 2019 and, in the first half of 2020 also. Following the upset loss to Lanka at home, the South Africans performed poorly in the World Cup, got whitewashed in India and were thoroughly beaten at home by England. South Africa are in desperate need of a good win to get themselves back on track. Sri Lanka are a good team to start this attempt as resurrection. But the Proteas would know better than anybody not to take the islanders lightly. This will also be the first series for Quinton de Kock as Test captain. He is up against a team that, in the last few years, has never looked like a dangerous side. But somehow, the Sri Lankans were able to turn the tables in the last series. Before that two-match contest in South Africa, the Lankans had hosted South Africa and had pulverised them on spin-friendly pitches. So, South Africa would be looking for revenge and finally, putting an end to the winning streak that Sri Lanka have against them. Let's look at the five biggest factors on which the outcome of the series would hinge. South Africa's Batting When the Proteas lost at home against Sri Lanka, the biggest culprit was their very poor batting. Against a very ordinary looking bowling attack, the home side failed to put up big scores. The batting woes continued for them in the tour of India and also the series at home against England. So, the South African batting would again be in focus. For becoming a top side again, they would have to raise their performances with the bat. Quinton de Kock has been the most consistent performer for his team. But he hasn't got much support from others. du Plessis hasn't done well for an extended period of time in this format. Dean Elgar has played good innnings but has been inconsistent. Only Rassie van der Dussen has shown himself to be up to the challenge in the last couple of years. Against Sri Lanka, South Africa's hunt for batting strength will continue. Whether they find the answers or not may decide the fate of the series. Struggles Against Spin When South Africa were the no. 1 Test team in the world, they had Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, and AB de Villiers in their batting line-up. These three were exceptionally good players of spin bowling also, apart from their other great traits. Now, with all three of them gone, the ability to play spin has become an even bigger weakness for the Proteas side. In 2018, they were dismantled by the Sri Lankan spinners on turning pitches, which the Proteas camp felt were unfair. However, this criticism seeemd meaningless when in 2019, they lost to the same team at home, and again conceded a fair amount of wickets to spinners. Against India, they again looked inept when playing the turning ball and allowed even Dom Bess and Joe Root to pick up wickets in South African conditions earlier this year. While Sri Lanka don't have any world-beating spinnners at the moment, there are big question marks against Proteas batsmen's skills playing tweakers. Whether they get over their weakness or not will also be an important factor in this series. Will Embuldeniya Shine Again? Sri Lanka have a very weak bowling attack, at least on paper. But in their last few series, it's been Lasith Embuldeniya who has been making an impact. He has been a regular wicket-taker. Now, Sri Lanka have been seeking a successor to Rangana Herath since his retirement. Will Embuldeniya be the one? Others such as Dilruwan Perera haven't risen to the occassion. If Embuldeniya is to be a long-term prospect for Sri Lanka, he has to show his mettle again. This series will give us a good idea of his abilities. Pressure on Ngidi South Africa are going into this series without their leading paceman Kagiso Rabada. This means it would be Lungi Ngidi who would be the leader of the attack. He made his debut in January 2018. This would be a big Test for the pacer. He has been impressive in his career but can he shoulder the responsibility of leading the bowling charge for his team? That's a big question that would form a sub-plot of this series. Faf on Trial Faf du Plessis is the most high-profile batsman in the South African team. However, his form has diminished in recent times. He has quit captaincy and even took a break in international cricket. He is now back in the team but if he has another bad series, the former captain may consider quitting Test cricket altogether. His friend and former teammate AB de Villiers quit international cricket all of a sudden and has decided to ply his trade in T20 leagues. If he doesn't succeed again, du Plessis may follow the same route.