Sri Lanka

After seven years in charge, Holder was replaced as captain of the Test team last month by Kraigg Brathwaite.  Brathwaite was himself promoted to the post after successfully taking charge during a successful tour of Bangladesh, which Holder had opted out of, along with 11 other players.

The change in circumstances has, however, not affected Holder’s play on the field and, equally importantly, he has been vocal with his encouragement of teammates on the field.  The previously mentioned characteristic is one many of his critics believe was absent during the majority of his tenure as captain.

 “Jason brought a different personality to the dressing room than what was in Bangladesh and it’s been working out nicely, especially the hard times in the field, Jason has been behind the guys, pushing us to do well.  I think him being skipper stopped that for a few years,” Mayers told SportsMax.tv’s The Commentators podcast.

“That’s the type of person he actually is.  A jovial person, always making fun, talking a lot.  I guess as captain being focused on the game, he couldn’t do that as much but now he is free, probably just trying to play as well as he can and be as free as he can,” he added.

“For me, if you are enjoying cricket more and you have less to worry about, it should make you better.  You focus more on yourself.”

Catch the full episode of The Commentators podcast below 

Notably, Lara recently celebrated the 19th anniversary of the day he scored the historic knock (400*) against England in Antigua in 2004.

Speaking on the franchise’s YouTube channel, Steyn stated that Lara, head coach of SRH, got nostalgic about his record innings.

He further revealed the chain of events on how Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene was on the verge of breaking the historic record in a match between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2006.

"I literally just looked at him (Brian Lara) and said, 'You're welcome. You still have your record due to South Africa’. Mahela (Jayawardene) and (Kumar) Sangakkara are batting together, Sangakkara is on strike. We never sniffed a wicket in that entire time,” Steyn said.

“At Tea on day three, we'd been fielding for two and a half days in the sun. Ashwell (Prince, who was captain on the tour) and the South Africans all get together and our team talk was not about how we're gonna draw or win this game. Mahela was on 370 somewhere and we just said, 'We need to do anything possible to make sure he didn't break Brian Lara’s record,” he added.

As the Sri Lankan closed in on the record, South Africa somehow managed to dismiss him just 26 runs short. 

"We come out of tea. Andre Nel is the bowler. And I’ve been fielding at mid-off for most of this game. I’d seen everything happen in this game at mid-off. I think he had run every milestone to me. I think he just blocked the ball and ran to me at this point,” shared Steyn.

“Nel ran in, he dragged one short, it was halfway down the pitch. I basically looked at the square leg because the bulk of the time that was where the ball was going. And for some crazy weird reason this ball didn’t get higher than ankle height and it castled Mahela’s stumps and we got him out for 374", he concluded.

While Lara’s 400* is still intact, Jayawardene’s 374 remains the fourth-highest individual score in Test history.

Meanwhile, Lara, who has scores of 400* and 375, features in the top-four list twice, whereas Matthew Hayden's 380-run knock against Zimbabwe in 2003 is the second-highest individual score in Test history.

The panel named 24 players for two three-day fixtures, which will be played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground on October 27-29 and November 1-3. The two teams will be led by Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood.

The players will use these matches as preparations ahead of West Indies’ forthcoming tour to Sri Lanka for two Test matches following the ICC T20 World Cup. The team will depart from Antigua on November 6 and the tour will run until December 4. The full tour squad and schedule will be announced at a later date. The series is the second of six series, three at home and three away, that West Indies will play in the 2021-2023 ICC World Test Championship after drawing the first Betway Test Series against Pakistan in August.

 “These Best v Best matches are a critical part of the Test team’s preparation for the series in Sri Lanka. For a number of players, it will be the only serious red ball cricket they will have since the Betway Test series against Pakistan and prior to going on this tour. So, it helps to get them back into the groove of the red-ball format and gives the Selection Panel an indication of the players’ readiness for the tour,” said Lead Selector Roger Harper.

SQUAD A: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Shamarh Brooks, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Jayden Seales, Preston McSween, Nial Smith and Jeremy Solozano.

 SQUAD B: Jermaine Blackwood (Captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Jahmar Hamilton, Chemar Holder, Kavem Hodge, Alzarri Joseph, Imran Khan, Shayne Moseley, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach and Jomel Warrican.

It is now two wins in two for Afghanistan, who enjoyed another impressive opening stand as Rahmanullah Gurbaz plundered 80 off 56 balls, including five fours and five boundaries, with Ibrahim Zardan adding 44.

Azmatullah Omarzai's dismissal for 22 saw Afghanistan stumble, but with a respectable 159-6, it was always going to be hard for New Zealand to chase.

The 2021 runners-up could not find their footing, with only two of their players reaching double figures – Glenn Phillips top-scored with 18.

They stumbled to 75 all out in just 15.2 overs, suffering their first T20 international defeat to Afghanistan, and they drop to the bottom of Group C.

Elsewhere, Bangladesh survived a scare to make a winning start to their campaign, getting a two-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Dallas.

Pathum Nissanka impressed with 47 off just 28 balls, but a flurry of late wickets saw Sri Lanka stumble to 124-9 after a strong start.

Bangladesh’s chase started poorly, with both openers being dismissed in the first two overs. However, after Towhid Hridoy's 40, and Liton Das' 36, Mahmudullah's 16 not out helped them over the line at the end of the 19th over.

Data Debrief: Dominant Afghanistan strike again

Afghanistan have opened an ICC Men's T20 World Cup campaign with back-to-back wins for just the second time, last doing so in 2016. They have now won their last four T20Is, their longest streak since 2022. 

Gurbaz hit 50 for the second game in a row, improving on his 76 runs in their win over Uganada with 80 in this win. 

Despite a top score of 63 not out from Nuwanidu Fernando, the Gladiators were restricted to 129-8 from their 20 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat.

Forde, who represented the West Indies at the 2020 ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa and the St. Lucia Kings in the most recent edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), was spectacular with the ball, producing figures of 4-11 from his four overs, conceding just one boundary in the process.

The Barbadian also led the way with the bat, scoring a 30-ball 52 including six fours and two sixes to spearhead an easy chase. Englishman Jordan Cox also contributed well with 34 as the Aura needed just 14.2 overs to reach 134-6.

The win was just the second for the Aura this season meaning they failed to advance to the playoffs.

The Playoffs begin on Wednesday with the Kandy Falcons taking on the Jaffna Kings in Qualifier one before the Colombo Stars and the Galle Gladiators face off in the eliminator.

Allen smashed three fours and four sixes to rally Kandy Falcons to 160-8 after they had slumped to 79-6 in the 14^th over despite 35 from Andre Fletcher and 24 from Ashan Bandara, who was dismissed in the 17^th over with the score at 119.

Allen raced to his 47 in just 23 balls before he was dismissed mid-way the final over when the score was 151. Chamika Karunaratne, who was not out on 18 at the end, pushed the score to 160-8.

Dunith Wellalage was the best of the Jaffna Kings bowlers taking 2-7 while James Fuller took 2-28.

Jaffna Kings made a good go of the chase for 161 thanks in large part to the efforts of Avishka Fernando who made 33 from 20 balls before he was bowled by Allen and Sadeera Samarawickrama, whose steady 48 from 41 balls held the innings together.

He was eventually dismissed by Hasaranga de Silva (2-21), who also took the key wicket of Shoaib Malik for eight, which exposed Jaffna Kings’ lower middle order to Brathwaite, who scythed through the line up with the wickets of Thisara Perera (2), Dunith Wellalage (1) and Fuller for 16, to take swing the match heavily in favour of his side.

The giant Barbadian had earlier taken the wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva (0) to finish with figures of 4-18 as Jaffna Kings’ innings closed on 150-9.

The Kings, after winning the toss and batting first, posted 177-7 from their 20 overs.

Avishka Fernando was the main contributor for the three-time champions with 59 from 48 balls while Pathum Nissanka hit 51 off 33 balls.

Fernando’s innings included seven fours and a six while Nissanka hit six fours and two sixes.

Captain Charith Asalanka also contributed a 15-ball 33 against 3-34 off four overs from Zahoor Khan and 2-23 from four overs from Dwayne Pretorius.

The Marvels then used all of the 120 balls available to them to successfully chase down their target.

Alex Hales led the way with 65 off 47 balls including seven fours and two sixes while Captain Niroshan Dickwella made 47 off 27 balls including eight fours and a six as Galle reached 179-5 off 20 overs.

Janith Liyanage also made a crucial 13-ball 25 for Galle. It eventually came down to them needing three runs off the last ball, a ball that Sahan Arachchige hit for four to seal the win.

Fabian Allen took 2-33 from his four overs for the Kings.

Full Scores:

Jaffna Kings 177-7 off 20 overs (Avishka Fernando 59, Pathum Nissanka 51, Charith Asalanka 33, Zahoor Khan 3-34, Dwayne Pretorius 2-23)

Galle Marvels 179-5 off 20 overs (Alex Hales 65, Niroshan Dickwella 47, Janith Liyanage 25, Fabian Allen 2-33, Avishka Fernando 2-40)

The veteran England bowler bagged his 30th five-wicket Test haul with figures of 6-40 in Sri Lanka's first innings of the second Test in Galle.

It saw the 38-year-old become the oldest paceman to take a five-wicket haul in a Test played in Asia.

Afterwards, Anderson revealed that he wants to run faster than he ever has before, as part of his drive to remain a vital cog in the England team.

Anderson, whose bowling exploits were followed on Saturday by a fine batting display from captain Joe Root, accepts he will no longer play in every Test.

He was left out for the first game in this two-match series but took Stuart Broad's place this week and showed he remains a formidable force.

Only spinners Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble have taken more Test wickets than Anderson, who is always looking for a way to improve.

"Through experience, the more effort you put in, the more rewards you get," he said.

"I've worked really hard on my fitness in the last 12 months. I'm working on stuff like running technique that's going to make me quicker.

"I'm obsessed with Carl Lewis at the moment and watching him run. I don't see why I can't keep improving just because I'm getting older."

Lewis, who won four gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, sustained his track and field career into his thirties, but few sportsmen can match the longevity of Anderson.

"I'm thinking I'm still someone who can do a job for England," Anderson said. "I can still win games of cricket.

"When you do get told you're not playing, it is frustrating, but all that made me do was focus on the second Test.

"But the older I've got, the more I realise they're looking after us and trying to manage us.

"We're playing a lot of Test cricket in a short period of time so we're aware we're going to have to rest from time to time."

In reply to Sri Lanka's 381 all out, England reached 98-2 at the close, having been 5-2 at one stage.

Root (67 not out) and Jonny Bairstow (24no) will resume on Sunday, and Anderson said: "We know now we've got to bat big and we've got to bat for a long time to try to win this game.

"We just need a couple of guys to go big – a couple of decent hundreds, as we saw in the first Test match, really makes a big difference.

"I think it's pretty important to try to get a lead if we can, just thinking of how the pitch is going to go. You don't want to chase down too many in the fourth innings if we're going to win."

Root made a double century in that first Test, and went past Geoffrey Boycott in Saturday's innings to nudge up to sixth place on the list of England's all-time leading run-scorers.

"I'm pretty sure he's not thinking about milestones when he's out there," Anderson said. "I'm not sure he's that sort of player."

Anderson, who took 704 wickets in 188 games for England, did not officially call time on his career and is now considering a return to the white-ball format. 

He recently joined the England coaching staff as a fast-bowling mentor following his retirement, and is helping Ben Stokes and the side ahead of their Test series with Sri Lanka next week. 

However, the 42-year-old is now pondering potential avenues for a return to the T20 Arena or even in next season's Hundred competition. 

Anderson has dedicated the last 10 years to red-ball cricket, not featuring in a 20-over game since 2014, but feels "still fit enough" to prolong his illustrious career. 

"I might be in a bit of denial because I'm well aware I won't play for England again, but I've still not made a decision on my actual cricket career," Anderson told the Press Association.

"There's definitely a bit of intrigue with the shorter formats because I've not played any franchise stuff before.

"Watching The Hundred this year, seeing the ball swing around, it makes me feel like I could do a job there.

"I know it's a while since I played it and my age will get brought up again but I really feel I'll be good enough to play that form of cricket."

England's record wicket-taker says he has recovered fully from the broken rib he sustained during the second Test victory over South Africa in early January.

That blow forced him to miss the third and fourth Tests, both of which England won to tie up a 3-1 series success.

Anderson, 37, hopes England pick him for the two-Test trip to Sri Lanka, even though he has struggled at times on tour against the Lions, in conditions not conducive to the Lancashire paceman masterful seam and swing.

He took just one wicket across two Tests in a November 2018 series, with Jack Leach, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali spinning England to a 2-0 lead before being rested for the third match, which the tourists also won.

Anderson said he was now "all healed" from his rib setback and doing gym work - welcome news for England, given Jofra Archer will miss the Sri Lanka series because of an elbow injury.

"I've been training for a few weeks now, getting my bowling back up to speed. I feel really good," Anderson told Sky Sports.

"The aim for me is to get fit for whatever is next and, at the moment, that is Sri Lanka.

"With a broken bone, you are just waiting for that to heal, you've not lost any fitness. It's about building my bowling back up now. We've got a month before that tour, so we have to just wait and see what the selectors think."

With 584 wickets, Anderson has claimed the most victims of any fast bowler in Test history.

"If I'm fit I want to be playing for England, wherever that might be," he said.

"I showed in South Africa that I can still do it abroad. I think I've been unlucky in the last few months with injuries, but I think my record before that has been pretty good injury-wise."

Phillip was among the leading bowlers in the recent CG Insurance Super50 Cup, taking 11 wickets at 25.6 each for champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force. This is his first call-up to the ODI squad.

West Indies lead the three-match CG Insurance ODI Series series 2-0 following victory by eight wickets in the first match and by five wickets in the second match.

Full Squad: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Jason Mohammed, Anderson Phillip, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd and Kevin Sinclair.

A seven-wicket win in Galle gave the tourists a 1-0 lead in the rearranged series, following on from an overseas triumph in South Africa a year ago, plus successes against West Indies and Pakistan on home soil.

Joe Root led from the front with a double-century last time out and, with the recalled Jonny Bairstow and debutant Dan Lawrence also contributing runs, the tourists have gone with the same batting line-up.

Anderson comes into the side as England make just the one change, with Broad given a rest, as Mark Wood retains his place and Olly Stone misses out along with Chris Woakes. 

As for Sri Lanka, they will once again be without Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne as he continues to recover from a fractured thumb.

Kusal Mendis has been dropped after a poor run of form with the bat – he has managed just 27 runs in his last six Test innings – while seam duo Lahiru Kumara and Nuwan Pradeep, as well as wicketkeeper-batsman Minod Bhanuka, have been allowed to depart the bio-secure bubble.

The home side will be aiming to prevent their opponents from winning a fifth successive Test overseas, a feat England have not achieved since a run of seven in a row between 1911 and 1914.

Sri Lanka fought back well after being dismissed for only 135 in their first innings of the opening Test and captain Root knows England cannot expect to have things all their own way as they eye another triumph on tour.

He said: "They are a proud team and they have a great record at this ground. Not only that, they have some very talented players.

"We already saw that throughout the game with how it unfolded in the second innings. The way that they played with the bat in the second innings was very different to the first and showed that in those conditions, they are a very hard side to break down.

"We know that this isn't going to be an easy game for us."

LEACH IN SIGHT OF RECORD

Jack Leach was understandably a little rusty in the previous game, having only played in two first-class fixtures throughout 2020. However, the left-arm spinner improved as he clocked up the overs, claiming 5-122 in the second innings to leave England needing just 74 for victory.

His six in the match lifted his career Test tally in Sri Lanka to 24, just one behind Ashley Giles who sits top of the all-time list for England. Considering it is expected to be another spin-friendly surface in Galle, Leach will fancy his chances of taking top spot before the short tour concludes.

SRI LANKA AIM TO STOP THE ROT

Despite showing some defiance with both bat and ball in the opening Test, Sri Lanka have now lost three in a row. They have not suffered a longer losing run since a four-game span between December 2015 and May 2016.

Their first-innings total of 135 left them with too much ground to make up second time around, so the continued absence of opener Karunaratne is a blow.

KEY MATCH FACTS

- England will be looking to record a third successive Test series win against Sri Lanka for the first time.
- England have lost only one of their Tests since the start of 2020 (W7, D2) and are undefeated in their last six of that stretch (W4, D2) – the last time they went on a longer unbeaten run was a 13-Test span (W7, D6) from November 2012 to August 2013.
- Joe Root made 228 last time out, his maiden Test double-century in Asia. That innings included 74 runs from conventional sweep shots, almost twice the number of his previous high in a Test match (41 at Pallekele versus Sri Lanka in November 2018).
- Lahiru Thirimanne has scored 50 or more in two of his past three Test innings at Galle, after doing so only once in his previous 12 knocks at the venue.
- Jos Buttler held on to all five catching opportunities in the series opener; only once before in his Test career has he managed to claim more catches without dropping one (July 2014 v India – 6/6).

After Sadeera Samarawickrama was caught on the deep mid-wicket boundary with Sri Lanka on 135 for four, Mathews walked to the crease with the bat in hand but appeared to notice his helmet strap was broken before marking his guard.

The Sri Lankan number six signalled for a new helmet before facing a ball and Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan then appealed to the umpire for the batter’s wicket, as he was not ready to face his first ball within the two minutes required by the competition rules.

After much deliberation and no withdrawal of the appeal, Mathews was forced to walk off the field having not faced a ball.

While within the laws of the game, questions will be asked over whether the dismissal is also within its spirit.

The World Cup rules state that “after the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must, unless time has been called, be ready to receive the ball or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within two minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, timed out.”

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan appealed to the umpire for the batter’s wicket as Mathews, who had called for a replacement helmet after appearing to notice his strap was broken, was not ready to face his first ball within the two minutes required by the competition rules.

Bangladesh went on to record a three-wicket win that eliminated Sri Lanka from the competition and Mathews said at a post-match press conference: “It is obviously disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh.

“If they want to play cricket like that and stoop down to that level, there’s something wrong, drastically. Up to today I had the utmost respect for him and the Bangladesh team.”

Shakib stood by his decision, insisting that it was within the rules of the game. He said in a post-match interview: “One of our fielders came to me and said that if I appealed, he would be out.

“The umpire asked me if I was serious. It’s in the laws, I don’t know if it’s right or wrong.”

Smiling, Shakib continued: “I felt like I was at war. Whatever I had to do, I did it. There will be debates. Today that (the time out) helped, I won’t deny that.”

After much deliberation and no withdrawal of the appeal, Mathews was forced to walk off the field having not faced a ball.

The World Cup rules state that “after the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must, unless time has been called, be ready to receive the ball or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within two minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, timed out.”

Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis was disappointed with the events he saw on the field.

He said on Sky Sports: “I didn’t enjoy what I saw out there.

“The spirit of the game, I always believe in that and the appeal and whole drama, I thought it was a bit too much for my liking.

“He came at the crease and he was standing there when he tried to pull that strap and the strap came off and he was just asking for another helmet.

“Yes, he came out a little bit late and in the law of the game he is out, but spirit of the game, I didn’t like it.”

Fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock explained the decision making and revealed Mathews had already gone beyond two minutes before he realised his helmet strap was broken.

He said: “When it comes to timed out, the incoming batter has to be in position and ready to receive a ball within two minutes and we have certain protocols where the TV umpire at a fall of the wicket monitors the two minutes and he will relay the message on to the on-field umpires.

“In the instance this afternoon, the batter wasn’t ready to receive the ball within those two minutes, even before the strap became an issue.

“The fielding captain initiated the appeal to Marais Erasmus that he wanted to appeal for timed out.”

Bangladesh went on to take their second victory of the tournament with a three-wicket win.

Charith Asalanka’s second one-day international century proved to be in vain as he helped Sri Lanka reach 279.

In reply, a key partnership between Najmul Hossain Shanto (90) and Shakib (82) took the game away from Sri Lanka as Bangladesh picked up their first win since their opening fixture against Afghanistan.

The Windies lost the first test to the Sri Lankans by 187 runs in Galle while only managing to score 230 and 160 in their two turns at the wicket.

The problem, according to Da Silva, was a technical one.

“We played a bit too far in front of us, especially in the first innings,” he said.

Da Silva was one of the bright spots in the second innings, making a well-played 54 off 125 balls as part of a 100-run partnership with Nkrumah Bonner, who remained not out at the end on 68.

Speaking after the match, Da Silva highlighted the difficulty of the conditions that the batsmen faced.

“Conditions were challenging. The pitch was turning a lot and the straighter ball was sliding on a bit so it was a difficult new-ball wicket but once the ball got a bit softer, it was a bit easier and we were able to get more on top of the bowlers,” he said.

The Trinidadian also gave some insight into what led to the big second innings partnership with Bonner that saw them take the score from 18-6 to 118-7.

“Well, when I got into the wicket with Bonner we had to rebuild. We had to think about how we were going to get out of a bit of a collapse so we just wanted to bat balls and both of us wanted to be at the wicket at the end of the day,” said Da Silva.

He also said that Sri Lanka didn’t do anything the Windies didn’t expect going into the game.

“They just played the cricket they know how to play. They used their spinners wisely and they batted well in the conditions they know how to bat very well. They used their home advantage,” he said.

Finally, Da Silva explained what needs to change for the West Indies to turn the series around.

“I just think the boys need to fight. We need to believe in ourselves. Nobody goes out there to fail. Everybody’s trying their best so just a bit of application and give yourself some time. You have a lot more time than you think,” he said.

The Windies will be looking to even the series in the second test which begins on Sunday at 11:30 pm local time.

Arthur and opener Thirimanne are following government health protocols after discovering they had contracted COVID-19 in the latest round of testing on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka are due to head out to the Caribbean this month, but the tour may be put back.

A Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) statement released on Wednesday said: "Following PCR Tests carried out on the provisional squad, which was preparing to take part in the national team's upcoming tour of the West Indies, head coach Mickey Arthur and Sri Lanka player Lahiru Thirimanne have tested positive for Covid-19.  

"They were detected following PCR Tests carried out yesterday for the entire 36-member squad, along with the coaching staff, net bowlers, and the HPC Staff.  

"Immediately upon identification, both Mickey Arthur and Lahiru Thirimanne have been directed to follow the government’s health protocol laid out on COVIDI-19.  

"The 36-member group commenced practices on the 28th January, in three groups and at different time periods, as a precautionary health measure. 

"Considering the current situation, SLC is exploring the possibility of rescheduling the Tour of the West Indies, which was scheduled to commence on 20th Feb, 2021.

"In the meantime, Sri Lanka Cricket will continue with normal operations, adhering to the stipulated health protocols in all its centers."

Sri Lanka were whitewashed 2-0 by England in a recent series in Galle.

Charith Asalanka was the hero for Sri Lanka in Colombo, taking two wickets in the space of two balls to bowl India out for 230.

Pathum Nissanka (56) and Dunith Wellalage (67) led the way for Sri Lanka with the bat, propelling them to 230-8 from their 50 overs, with the pair plundering 18 boundaries between them.

India looked well set for the first 12 overs, until the dismissal of Shubman Gill (16) kick-started a mini-capitulation, with captain Rohit Sharma (58), Washington Sundar (five), Virat Kohli (24) and Shreyas Iyer (23) following in quick succession.

KL Rahul and Axar Patel appeared to have steadied the ship, but Wanindu Hasaranga (3-58) and Asalanka (3-30) struck in the space of seven deliveries to drag Sri Lanka back into it.

And the day ultimately belonged to Asalanka who, after being hit for four by Shivam Dube (25) in the 48th over, hit back with a pair of LBWs to leave the tourists stunned.

Data Debrief: India's dominance ended

India had won each of their last six ODIs against Sri Lanka, their joint-longest winning streak against them in the history of the format (along with a run between July 1998 and May 1999), but for the first time since a loss in Colombo in July 2021, they failed to get the job done.

This match did see the two form teams in ODIs take each other on. India (27) and Sri Lanka (22) have won more 50-over games than any other teams since the start of 2023.

Sri Lanka resumed play on Monday on 28-1 with the mountainous task of chasing down a target of 447, having been bowled out for 109 in their first innings in the day-night Test.

Dimuth Karunaratne (107) did at least give the tourists something to cheer as the skipper recorded a 14th Test century.

Yet his efforts were in vain as Sri Lanka crumbled to 208 all out, Ashwin taking four wickets to become the first bowler in Test Championship history to 100 as India claimed a 238-run success.

Kusal Mendis (54) was the sole batsman to provide Karunaratne with anything resembling significant support.

However, any hope of Sri Lanka even surviving the day went with Mendis when his partnership with Karunaratne was ended on 97 after being stumped by Rishabh Pant off Ashwin.

Only one other Sri Lanka batter, Niroshan Dickwella (12), reached double figures in the innings, Ashwin fittingly taking the final wicket when Vishwa Fernando top-edged him to Mohammed Shami.

Captain Rohit Sharma said of Ashwin: "It was personally my feeling [that he is an all-time great].

"Whenever we give him the ball, he comes up with match-winning performances. He's got a lot of years left in him. We have lots of occasions to look forward to."

Another stellar series for Ashwin

Ashwin's landmark performance also saw him finish with the most wickets (12) in the short series, in which he also bowled the most maiden overs (16).

Sri Lanka sorry with the bat

Sri Lanka's second-innings performance marked the first time in the series they surpassed 200, summing up their dismal form with the bat.

Smith led the way with a 24-ball 36, while Simmons contributed 21 off 11 balls, which assisted Riders to 97 for four off their allotment, at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium.

Simmons, 38, put on 29 for the first wicket with captain Robin Uthappa (24), and added another 28 in a second-wicket partnership Smith, who had four boundaries in his knock.

Former Pakistan seamer Sohail Khan was the chief destroyer for the Warriors, as he claimed three for 21, with former West Indies seamer Jerome Taylor taking the other wicket.

Meanwhile, Kamran Akmal struck a brisk 34 off 11 balls, including three fours and three sixes, in a 63-run opening stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan, who struck 28 from 14 balls.

Though former Bangladesh left-arm spinner Elias Sunny slowed their progress, snaring two of the three wickets that fell in quick succession, former West Indies all-rounder Jonathan Carter and Shahid Afridi took the game away from the Riders, with an unbroken 40-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Carter struck one boundary and a maximum in his 17, while Afridi was unbeaten on 22.

Sunny ended with two wickets for 11 runs.

Another former West Indies player Chris Barnwell struck an unbeaten 28 off a mere 10 deliveries to lead New Jersey Tritons to victory over the Warriors on Sunday.

Barnwell’s knock, which included four sixes saw the Tritons chased down 85 in a contest reduced to five overs per side due to rain.

In a rain-affected first match of Australia's tour, which will encompass series in all three formats, Sri Lanka looked to be in a strong position on 100-1.

However, from there they lost nine wickets for just 28 further runs, Josh Hazlewood (4-16) and Mitchell Starc (3-26) ripping through Sri Lanka's line-up.

Danushka Gunathilaka went in the fifth over after a pacey 15-ball 26 but Sri Lanka appeared solid until Starc bowled Pathum Nissanka (36).

That brought about a flurry of wickets, Charith Asalanka (38) run out by Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade just before the first rain delay.

Australia polished off the tail upon resumption, Wanindu Hasaranga (17) the sole other batter to reach double figures, and the rain could not stop captain Aaron Finch (61 not out) and David Warner (70no) from powering the tourists to the meagre target with 36 balls remaining. Finch finished things off with an uppercut for six.
 

Josh the boss

Hazlewood's figures marked the second best of his career in T20 international cricket after the 4-12 he took against the same opposition in Sydney in February.

The seamer continues to torment Sri Lanka, his effort this time around comprising 15 dot balls as he gave up only two boundaries.

Hasaranga helpless

Hasaranga was one of the star performers of the 2022 Indian Premier League, taking 26 wickets, but was bludgeoned by Finch and Warner on home soil, his two overs going for 27 runs.

Maheesh Theekshana was slightly better with 0-25 from four, but Sri Lanka's decision to pick two spinners backfired.