India's win on Saturday has left Sri Lanka needing to win both remaining matches if they are to take the series. None of the players involved in the series had made their ODI debuts when India last lost a bilateral series in Sri Lanka - that was way back in 1997, when Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva were at the peak of their powers.

Temperament lets Rohit down.

Rohit Sharma makes batting look easy, but five years since his debut, he is yet to arrive in international cricket
His batting, as one of my friends put it, swings between 'wow' and 'how'. When he pulls off those impossible shots, you admire in awe and then when he throws away his wicket to reckless shots, you wonder about the futility of his talent.
In 2007 Rohit Sharma burst onto the Indian cricket scene as a young player with immense potential destined for bigger things in life. When on song, he's been a delight to watch, for his languid movement makes batting look ever so easy. Traditionally, there are a three 'T's to judge a young batsman - the first is Talent, which is the inherent or acquired ability to pick the line and length of the ball a lot earlier than many, which in turn allows the body to get into the right position to play a shot. If we were to simplify batting, the crux of it is to always be in a position to receive the ball. The earlier you are there, the more the options you have to deal with the ball. On the contrary, if you're still on the move when the ball arrives, there's very little that you can do with it. Rohit Sharma ticks this box quite easily, for he seems to have all the time in the world to deal with even the quickest bowlers who don't trouble him much. The second T, though slightly misunderstood, is the Technical prowess. While there is always the copybook way of playing every stroke, it isn't necessary to follow the written rules all the time, for different players develop different techniques to not only survive but also thrive. Still a strong technical base, if married with discipline, ensures consistency. Even though there were a few glitches in his technique like the head falling towards the off-side in the stance, as it is with most players early on, his basics were pretty much in place. It is his minimalistic feet movement which ensures that he's rarely off-balance and so his timely weight transfer produces that elusive timing. Another box successfully ticked. Obviously there's a lot going for Rohit in both the talent and technique department, which also explains, to a certain extent, the faith reposed in him by the captain and the team management. To his credit, he did turn a new leaf in 2011 when he started converting attractive cameos into match-winning performances by batting the bulk of the overs at his disposal. But it's the third T - the Temperament - that has let him down, once again. Not surprisingly, it happens a lot with people who are talented because everything seems to be far too simple to them. Temperament is a sum of many character traits like discipline, controlling the impulse, rational response to pressure etc., developed over a period of time, which needs awareness and knowledge of your own craft. Since most of the times the only thing such talented players need to do to score is to just turn up for the match, they tend to underestimate the importance of processes and structures. Someone lesser talented would always have the blueprint for each innings, as structuring the innings correctly is imperative to their success. Rohit doesn't seem to understand the need to avoid playing high-risk shots at the beginning of the innings or the value of consciously moving his feet slightly quicker in certain conditions or during bad phases. He was guilty of slashing outside the off-stump early on in the innings only to nick it to the wicketkeeper many-a-times in Australia. Shot-selection is as important as the ability to play those shots, since each time you pick the wrong ball or the wrong moment to play that shot, you're doomed.

Roach sparks West Indies victory.

West Indies 522 (Gayle 150, Powell 134, Deonarine 79) and 102 for 1 (Gayle 64*) beat New Zealand 351 (Guptill 97, Narine 5-132) and 272 (Guptill 67, McCullum 84, Roach 5-60) by nine wickets.Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Victory didn't seem so certain at the end of the fourth day, but West Indies delivered the knockout punch on the fifth, thanks to their seamers, to cruise to a nine-wicket win and take a 1-0 lead in the series. West Indies needed to pick up the seven remaining wickets as quickly as possible, and Kemar Roach hastened that with a five-wicket haul to give the hosts an easy target of 102, which Chris Gayle and Kieran Powell approached without fuss. It was a continuation of the good work put in by West Indies after they landed home from a tough tour of England. The inclusion of Gayle and Sunil Narine - giants in Twenty20 leagues - heightened the anticipation for cricket fans world over. Both made significant contributions in the victory - Gayle with 150 in the first innings and Narine with a match haul of eight wickets, including a five-for in the first innings. It was West Indies' third win in the last two years and arguably with their strongest XI in recent months. For New Zealand, their tour only got tougher, having surrendered the T20s and ODIs to the hosts. However, they showed a lot of character on the fourth day to raise hopes of saving the game. The top order didn't allow the scoreboard pressure to weigh them down, and ended the day 28 ahead with seven wickets in hand. They needed their batsmen to sustain that intensity and bat out at least two sessions on the final day, but when their specialist batsmen let them down early, the writing was on the wall for the visitors.A double-strike by Roach, immediately after a short rain interval, raised West Indies' hopes of closing out the game. The wickets heaped pressure on New Zealand as the battle for survival got tougher against an incisive Roach and Narine, who looked like striking every over. Neil Wagner impressed with his defence and perseverance as a nightwatchman, but New Zealand expected more from their specialist batsmen in a tense morning session.

It's Always First time..

It's Always First time..
India 288 for 5 (Gambhir 102, Raina 65*) beat Sri Lanka 286 for 5 (Sangakkara 73, Mathews 71*, Jayawardene 65) by 5 wickets.
After 28 consecutive wins in home ODIs when they've scored at least 250 batting first, Sri Lanka's amazing run was ended in a nailbiter at the Premadasa. Riding on a superbly paced hundred by Gautam Gambhir, India overcame mid-innings wobbles, including losing two wickets off successive balls, as Suresh Raina - helped along by Irfan Pathan - did the finishing job to perfection. India now lead the five-match series 2-1. In conditions that offered an even contest between bat and ball, and there were several memorable performances, with fortunes either way several times, till the Raina-Irfan partnership decisively swung it India's way. India held the early ascendancy in the match with three quick wickets, but a top-notch 121-run stand for the fourth wicket between Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene edged it in Sri Lanka's favour. Angelo Mathews and Jeevan Mendis further hammered home the advantage with a104-run partnership, including 97 off the last ten, as India's bowling frailties at the death were exposed again. Then, when India's chase appeared on course, Lasith Malinga, who historically hasn't had such a happy time against them, struck twice with the first two balls of the batting Powerplay, at a time when India were fairly comfortably placed, needing 107 off 90 with eight wickets in hand, with MS Dhoni and Gambhir well set. And when Gambhir was found short by a direct hit from Isuru Udana - his one redeeming act on another disappointing bowling day - India seemed to have well and truly lost their way.

Raina takes India home in nailbiter

India 288 for 5 (Gambhir 102, Raina 65*) beat Sri Lanka 286 for 5 (Sangakkara 73, Mathews 71*, Jayawardene 65) by 5 wickets.
After 28 consecutive wins in home ODIs when they've scored at least 250 batting first, Sri Lanka's amazing run was ended in a nailbiter at the Premadasa. Riding on a superbly paced hundred by Gautam Gambhir, India overcame mid-innings wobbles, including losing two wickets off successive balls, as Suresh Raina - helped along by Irfan Pathan - did the finishing job to perfection. India now lead the five-match series 2-1. In conditions that offered an even contest between bat and ball, and there were several memorable performances, with fortunes either way several times, till the Raina-Irfan partnership decisively swung it India's way. India held the early ascendancy in the match with three quick wickets, but a top-notch 121-run stand for the fourth wicket between Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene edged it in Sri Lanka's favour. Angelo Mathews and Jeevan Mendis further hammered home the advantage with a104-run partnership, including 97 off the last ten, as India's bowling frailties at the death were exposed again. Then, when India's chase appeared on course, Lasith Malinga, who historically hasn't had such a happy time against them, struck twice with the first two balls of the batting Powerplay, at a time when India were fairly comfortably placed, needing 107 off 90 with eight wickets in hand, with MS Dhoni and Gambhir well set. And when Gambhir was found short by a direct hit from Isuru Udana - his one redeeming act on another disappointing bowling day - India seemed to have well and truly lost their way.

Teams seek fresh start in Colombo

After two contrasting matches in Hambantota, the teams gear up for another double-header at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, with the series neatly tied up at 1-1. Sri Lanka will be the more confident of the two sides after the nine-wicket hiding they dished out to India in the previous outing, but India have a superior record at the Premadasa, where the heat and humidity and shorter boundaries will feel more comfortable after blustery Hambantota. India have won the last five matches at the Premadasa where they have used their preferred method - bat first, score big and let the pressure of the chase stifle the opposition. However, the pitch was relaid before the World Cup and run scoring at the Premadasa since then has not been easy; both seamers and slow bowlers were among wickets during the recent ODIs against Pakistan. After their struggle in the last ODI in Hambantota on a pitch that offered some help, the Premadasa pitch could offer another stiff challenge to India's batsmen. Click Here to watch LIVE MATCH...!

Kallis rested for England ODIs

South Africa have given the clearest indication yet that Jacques Kallis will form part of their World Twenty20 plans by resting him for the ODI series against England. Kallis has not played T20I cricket for South Africa since the 2010 World Twenty20, apart from a one-off game against India in his honour in March, but was named in a 30-man provisional squad for Sri Lanka last week.

WORLD RECORD BY VIRAT KOHLI!

WORLD RECORD BY VIRAT KOHLI! Virat Kohli the first man in the history of Cricket to score 12 centuries in just 86 matches & most runs in 86 Odis - 3,690 runs.

South Africans rise up Test rankings after Oval victory
South Africa's batsmen have surged up the ICC Test rankings to occupy four of the top six spots after their colossal performance in the first Test at The Oval. Jacques Kallis is at No. 2, Hashim Amla (3), AB de Villiers (5) and Graeme Smith (6). Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara remained No. 1, while Shivnarine Chanderpaul dropped two spots to No. 4. Kallis also unseated Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan as the No. 1 allrounder in Tests.

Sri Lanka v India, 2nd ODI, Hambantota Perera, Mathews set up massive win India 138 (33.3 ov) Sri Lanka 139/1 (19.5 ov)

Aaj Ka Lunch

Whats For LUNCH.? Sri Lanka

2012 Leading Most Runs & Wickets By Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga From Sri Lanka. Kumar Sangakkara :- 25 matches | 24 innig | 1038 Runs | HS 133 | Average 45.13 | SR 80.46 | 3 Centuries | 5 Half Centuries. Lasith Malinga :- 24 Matches |24 Innings | 207.3 Overs | 36 Wickets | BBI 5/54 | Average 33.05 | 5.73 Econ | SR 34.5. Click Here To watch LIVE match stream

WI vs NZ 1st Test LIVE

LIVE Ten Cricket Streaming

New Zealand Tour of West Indies 2012. 1st Test West Indies vs New Zealand Live Cricket Streaming - (Flash Stream) - Match scheduled to played at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts on 16 July 2012.