Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 1st ODI: Match Prediction – Weather Report, Pitch Conditions, Playing XIs and Live Streaming Details

Taking into account the List A records at the venue over the years, a high-scoring game seems to be in store.

Published - 26 Sept 2019, 15:46 IST | Updated - 26 Sept 2019, 15:46 IST

View : 19.3K

2 Min Read

After all the chaos surrounding Sri Lanka’s tour of Pakistan, it’s time for action on the field. The opening match of the series is set to be played at the National Stadium in Karachi. This will be the first time the Lankans will be playing a full-fledged series in the nation ever since the bus attack in Lahore a decade ago. Ahead of the series, 10 Lankan players backed out citing security concerns.

To add to their agony, Kusal Mendis also was unavailable due to injury. Pakistan, on the contrary, were hit by two injury concerns as well after Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali missed the bus due to dengue and back spasm respectively. On paper, the home team looks stronger. Sarfaraz Ahmed was retained as the skipper and he’ll look start Pakistan’s post World Cup journey on a positive note.

Pitch and Conditions

The average score at the venue in the last five List A matches back in 2018 was 243, but all of them were day games. Since the next match is a day/night affair, hence a high-scoring affair seems to be in store. In One-Day cricket, the average score back in 2008/09 was around 290. Both teams would want to bat first after winning the toss as they have potent bowling attacks to defend a target.

Team Combinations

Pakistan

Fakhar and Imam are likely to be the openers. The latter had a decent campaign in the World Cup as compared to Fakhar, who couldn’t quite get going. Babar Azam has been piling on runs at will in competitive cricket over the last few months and the hosts would want their star batter to step up. Haris played some decent knocks in the mega event and he’ll look to replicate something similar.

The middle-order also has skipper Sarfaraz, who can grind, and Asif Ali with his strong hitting abilities. Imad and Shadab add depth to the batting. The duo’s role in the spin department will also be of prime importance. Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz should lead the pace attack. The home team may also play Hasnain ahead of Shinwari since the team already has two left-arm pacers.

Probable XI

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed (C & WK) Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hasnain

Sri Lanka

The Lankans are likely to open with Avishka Fernando and Sadeera Samarawickrama. The former had an excellent outing in Bangladesh and he’ll play a key role at the top. It will be interesting to see where Thirimanne bats since he is the most experienced player in the lineup. Oshada Fernando made his ODI debut earlier this year in South Africa and got a few scores in the 20s and 30s.

Shehan Jayasuriya and Dasun Shanaka can also hit the long ball. The batting has depth with the likes of Isuru Udana in the ranks. In the bowling area, Lahiru Kumara and Nuwan Pradeep bowled well in the tour of Bangladesh, but will be up against a much stronger batting unit this time around. Lakshan Sandakan and Wanindu Hasaranga are most likely to be the spin-bowling options for the visitors.

Probable XI

Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne (C), Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Isuru Udana, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Pradeep, Lakshan Sandakan