The ICC Champions Trophy has pitted two familiar foes against each other in India and Sri Lanka in the second semi-final. Deja vu, you could say, as the giants from the subcontinent will meet for the first time in an ODI tournament since the monumental 2011 World Cup final. So far, India have steamrolled their way in to the semi-finals with an unbeaten record whereas Sri Lanka produced their best when it mattered the most.
India's new look opening pair has looked impressive, ably supported by their bowlers, while Sri Lanka have so far looked up to their reliable and experienced players to come up with the goods.
Cricketnext takes a look at five key battles that could determine the outcome of the match.
Shikhar Dhawan v Lasith Malinga: The 27-year-old Dhawan has so far stuck gold with his form and is the highest run-getter in the tournament with 264 runs in three matches at an average of 132. He cut and pulled his way to centuries in Cardiff and London and then looked equally good against Pakistan against whom he made 48. In the semis, up against him will be a certain Lasith Malinga. The Sri Lankan' slinging action has often created problems in run-scoring and his near perfect variations are very hard to pick. ...
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10:10 AM, Jun 20, 2013
Birmingham: Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene have been officially reprimanded for excessive appealing during their Champions Trophy match against New Zealand here. According to a statement from the ICC, Dilshan and Jayawardene were found to have breached Article 2.1.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "excessive appealing during an international match". The charges were laid by on-field umpires Bruce...
10:16 AM, Jun 10, 2013
Birmingham: Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik smashed a century each as India warmed-up their Champions Trophy campaign with a five-wicket thumping win over Sri Lanka in their first practice game on Saturday. Kohli (144) teamed up with Dinesh Karthik (106 not out) to rescue India from a wobbly start with a 186-run stand for the fifth wicket in just 23.2 overs to chase down a huge target of 334 with...
11:25 PM, Jun 01, 2013
Bangalore: Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan feels that his opening partner Chris Gayle's record-breaking knock against Pune Warriors in their IPL match was the best ever he had seen in his career. Dilshan was at the other end for major part of the RCB innings when Gayle butchered Pune bowlers for 175 not out from just 66 balls last night, the highest individual score in any T20 cricket. Asked...
08:55 PM, Apr 24, 2013
The Bangladesh bowlers need to pull up their socks after they went for plentiful in the first one-dayer. ...
06:02 PM, Mar 24, 2013
It was a huge run feast for the batsmen of both the teams as the match ends in a draw. ...
09:30 AM, Mar 12, 2013
Rahim became the first Bangladesh player to score a double century in Tests as they took 68-run lead which was later erased by SL, reaching 116 for 1 at stumps on Day 2. ...
06:49 PM, Mar 11, 2013
Australia finished day three at 27 for no loss leading Sri Lanka by 141 runs after Siddle's five-for had bundled out the visitors for 336. ...
07:16 AM, Dec 16, 2012
Sri Lanka reached second day stumps at 276 for four in reply to the Chairman's XI 439 for six. ...
03:24 PM, Dec 07, 2012
Dilshan has been ruled out of the first as he is yet to recover from his back injury. ...
01:03 PM, Nov 16, 2012
Dilshan hit 102 not out as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by seven wickets in a rain-affected third ODI at Pallekele. ...
12:20 AM, Nov 07, 2012
New Zealand needed 14 for victory in the eliminator after Sri Lanka posted 13 for 1, but was restricted to 8 for 1 after tight bowling by Lasith Malinga. ...
08:00 PM, Sep 27, 2012
Sri Lanka are in Group C of the preliminary league with South Africa and Zimbabwe. ...
03:05 PM, Sep 13, 2012
Dilshan rated Kohli as one of the best young players in world cricket at the moment. ...
06:40 PM, Aug 13, 2012
After scoring 226, the visitors bowled well to reduce Sri Lanka to 44 for 3 on day one of the third Test at Pallekele. ...
10:30 AM, Jul 08, 2012
Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara both hit hundreds to help Sri Lanka to 278 for 5 at stumps on day four. ...
01:02 PM, Jul 03, 2012
Thursday's match is the penultimate league game for RCB and they need to win their last two games to qualify for the knock-out stage. ...
11:12 PM, May 16, 2012
The fast bowler figures along side Jayawardene, Sangakkara, Dilshan and Samaraweera. ...
11:26 AM, May 13, 2012
New Delhi: Little-known Bollywood actress Nupur Mehta has decided to send a legal notice to 'The Sunday Times' for accusing her of being involved in match-fixing and has also kept open the possibility of filing for civil and criminal defamation against the British daily. "We will be sending a legal notice to the newspaper, and see what kind of response we get. We will then be moving ahead and filing...
10:44 AM, Mar 27, 2012
