Unbalanced Pakistan face resurgent Sri Lanka

Sunday, July 19, 2015
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)

On Wednesday night Sri Lanka reached back through history and produced a win of late 1990s vintage. There was the precocious left-handed opener laying waste to new-ball bowlers, significant contributions from the rest of the top order, a captain entangling himself in yet another run-out, and a cool hand from lower down, to complete a big chase. This Sri Lanka team has far to go before comparisons can be drawn with last year's ODI outfit, let alone the class of '96, but chasing 287 in Sri Lanka is a considerable achievement. The bowling still appears fragile, but on Wednesday, the young batsmen found way.

Pakistan, meanwhile, have been rocked by the one-year ban handed to Mohammad Hafeez, on account of his action. With Saeed Ajmal too diminished by the remodelling process to stake a place in the attack, Pakistan are without either of the spinners they have relied on in the past few years in the format. Their seamers continue to take wickets thankfully, but on Wednesday, the opening bowlers seemed unsure of how to respond to Kusal Perera's vicious attack. As the matches move to Khettarama, which is usually the slowest of Sri Lanka's one-day pitches, Pakistan will need to briskly move past their disappointment over Hafeez's ban.

The visitors will be encouraged that their batting has largely been impressive in Sri Lanka, save for that one major collapse in the Colombo Test. Shoaib Malik's re-emergence continues with two good fifties on the trot, and Azhar Ali has proved a reliable run-getter in the early days of his captaincy.

For Sri Lanka, signs are good that Dinesh Chandimal's enormous talent is beginning to consistently manifest.

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WLLWL
Pakistan: LWWWL

Angelo Mathews has not hit a fifty in the two innings so far, but his canny seam has alleviated some of his team's bowling woes. He took the new ball on Wednesday despite the presence of three faster bowlers in his XI. The Colombo surface should suit his cutters and sleight of hand better than the tracks in Dambulla and Pallekele.

For a while, it seemed like it was Mohammad Hafeez's bowling that kept him in the Pakistan side. Now that the arrow has been taken from his quiver, he must earn his place as a specialist batsman. He has form on his side, having struck a century in Dambulla, and his weakness against high-quality pace bowling is unlikely to be tested in this series. Even so, he will want some big scores in the next three games.

Sri Lanka's batting is unlikely to see major changes. However, the hosts played only two frontline bowlers and four allrounders (plus Tillakaratne Dilshan) at Pallekele. Perhaps they will opt for another bowler in Colombo, with Thisara Perera looking likeliest to make way.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Lahiru Thirimanne, 4 Upul Tharanga, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 7 Milinda Siriwardene, 8 Sachith Pathirana, 9 Sachithra Senanayake/Thisara Perera, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Suranga Lakmal

Hafeez's inability to bowl upsets Pakistan's balance somewhat. It may be a chance for left-arm spinning allrounder Imad Wasim to come into the side.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Azhar Ali (capt.), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Mohammad Rizwan, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Anwar Ali/Imad Wasim, 9 Yasir Shah, 10 Rahat Ali, 11 Mohammad Irfan

There have been light showers around the city in the past week, and the forecast for Sunday looks no different. However, the dry spells are likely to be long enough to squeeze a match in.

"We know that Thisara can win games. If he can do that often, it'll be great. In his bowling, he's got potential and he's got the pace. He's played over a 100 matches now, and I'd like to see a little more consistency in him."
Angelo Mathews on Thisara Perera

"It's sad for us, but we'll have to change our plans. We're looking at a few different team combinations."
Azhar Ali on dealing with Mohammad Hafeez's bowling ban