A stunning 23-run defeat against Bangladesh leaves Sri Lanka with the tough task of beating both India and Pakistan to make it to the final. After the defeat, where Sri Lanka failed to chase down 148, stand-in skipper Angelo Mathews was offering no excuses. He put the blame squarely on his team for not playing the right shots at the right times.

Mahela Jayawardene has brushed off criticism from SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala, contending that his ten-day consulting role with England is largely geared toward player development and not toward providing specific tactical information. He has also said Sumathipala's questioning of his ethics was "laughable".

A young boy from Afghanistan who was pictured wearing a football shirt made from a plastic bag penned with the name "Messi" has now been given the real thing.

Two wickets in his first over and two more in his second spell was how Lasith Malinga marked his comeback into competitive cricket after more than three months. Figures of 4 for 26 helped Sri Lanka beat the UAE by 14 runs but the performance didn't entirely make him happy.

At the innings break, UAE would have had hopes of a fourth straight win in the tournament, having restricted Sri Lanka to 129 for 8. Those hopes, however, were snuffed out in the first over as Lasith Malinga struck twice to wreck UAE's chase and ultimately lead his side to a 14-run win. Malinga marked his return to international cricket with a haul of 4 for 26.