PAK v SL, 1st ODI Preview: Upbeat Sri Lanka aim for glory in the coloured jerseys

Both the teams will be eying to start the series with a win.

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Pakistan
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Pakistan’s players. (Photo credit KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images)

The Test series in the Gulf nation well and truly marked the arrival of Sri Lanka and after all, they’ve gone through, it came in as a huge relief. Not many had given them a chance to win a match leave alone the series, but the way they fought till the end in both the games was truly remarkable and reminiscent of the old Lankan side.

It will be tough for them to replicate similar success in the white ball format but momentum is something that has always mattered and currently, it’s in the Lankan gallery. With the bowlers, especially spinners in great touch, they’ll be confident that they can restrict the Pakistanis to a low score. If they can actually do that, their batsmen will feel a lot more confident getting in.

Pakistan are always at their unpredictable best and one of the most difficult jobs in the world is to foretell what’ll happen next when they play. That sounds interesting for the fans, but no team coach would want his side to perform this way. They’ll have a big test on their way and no matter what happened in the past, this side can make a stunning comeback.

Toss: Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field

Teams:

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Niroshan Dickwella(w), Upul Tharanga(c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Milinda Siriwardana, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Jeffrey Vandersay, Akila Dananjaya, Lahiru Gamage

Pakistan (Playing XI): Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Imad Wasim, Rumman Raees, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan

Focus will be on

Hasan Ali (Pakistan)

One of the hottest young properties in the cricketing world, Hasan Ali is taking giant strides as a cricketer. After announcing his arrival globally in the Champions Trophy this June, he performed well in the CPL and other formats for Pakistan. Hasan Ali has raw pace and often hits the right areas. If he can get going with the new ball, he’ll win games on his own.

Niroshan Dickwella (Sri Lanka)

Arguably one batsman who made the biggest impact in the Test series, Niroshan Dickwella’s quick-fire knocks had a huge influence on the results. Not many have noticed his contribution with Karunaratne and Herath hogging the limelight, but he was absolutely spectacular. He loves the shorter formats and to ensure their horrid run in ODIs comes to an end, he’ll have to swing his willow to great effect.

Playing Combinations

Pakistan

Fakhar Zaman, the explosive opener, will open the innings alongside the experienced candidate Ahmed Shehzad. Their best batsman Babar Azam will be coming in at 3 and they have tons of experience in the middle order. Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez and skipper Sarfraz Ahmed form a great middle-order combination and it’ll be interesting to see how they cope with the challenges.

The hosts also have some brilliant bowling options in Hasan Ali and the extremely talented Rumman Raees with the new ball. Junaid Khan is another option to embark the innings and the skipper will have a healthy headache in this aspect. Inadequate Wasim, Shadab Khan and Shoaib Malik will be their spinning options.

Sri Lanka

Niroshan Dickwella’s form will be handy at the top as he opens the innings with skipper Upul Tharanga. Kusal Mendis will come in at the crucial number 3 spot and Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Milinda Siriwardana and Thisara Perera will comprise the middle.

It will be the biggest test for the bowlers as most of them have been out of form recently. Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera and  Vishwa Fernando will be the new ball bowlers with Perera being the other fast bowling option. Akila Dananjaya and Siriwardana will be the spinners, who will have the crucial task of restricting the experienced middle order of Pakistan.

StatAttack

28 – Pakistan have won 28 and lost 16 ODIs against Sri Lanka in the UAE.

2 – Pakistan lost only twice under the leadership of Sarfraz Ahmed in ODIs.

109 – Niroshan Dickwella needs another 109 runs to complete 1,000 ODI runs.

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