Sri Lanka vs Pakistan – 1st T20I – Match Preview
Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka is all set to kick-off with a Twenty20 game to be played at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota on Friday, June 1, 2012.
The series between the two Asian cricketing giants is being viewed as a preparation for the T20 World Cup, which will be played in Sri Lanka during the month of September.
Mahela Jayawardene, skipper Sri Lanka, is confident that the two matches against Green Shirts will help develop the perfect combination for the World Cup.
“If you take their performances in the last six months they have performed well in all three formats. To play them in our conditions is a good challenge. In another 3-4 months we have the World T20 so the T20 matches against Pakistan and the two we will play against India in July are extremely important to us,” said Jayawardene.
Even though the Lankans are ranked above Pakistan in ICC T20 ratings, it is the tourist’s who have the upper hand when it comes to head-to-head competitions.
The Men in Green have emerged victorious on five occasions from the total of seven times these two sides have squared off in T20Is. Pakistan has also won the last three T20 encounters against the Lankan Lions.
However, the Island nation will be looking to nullify the mental edge that the Men in Green have by making utmost use of the home conditions.
Pakistani players haven’t played a single international match since the Asia Cup 2012. Furthermore, the last T20 match that Pakistan played was against England in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), during the month of February.
On the other hand, a few Sri Lankan players took part in the recently concluded Indian Premier League and will be in shape for the series.
Newly appointed skipper of Pakistan, Mohammad Hafeez, has claimed that Pakistani players won’t be bothered by lack of match practice, as they have prepared very hard during the training session in Lahore.
He said, “I personally feel the boys have worked really hard in the last one and a half months. Although we were not playing any international cricket, some of the guys were doing their own training and the PCB arranged some matches for us to get match practice.”
The match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka is going to be the first T20I match at Hambantota, thus it is not known how the pitch will behave. However, there have been eight ODI matches at this ground and the results have been pretty one-sided.
Key Players:
Only three bowlers in T20 format have taken 50 or more wickets and all three of them belong from Pakistan, namely Shahid Afridi (56 wickets), Umar Gul (55 wickets) and Saeed Ajmal (51 wickets). Sri Lankans will be weary of Pakistan’s bowling attack as it has no loose ends.
Sri Lankan team relies heavily on Kumar Sangakkara, Lasith Malinga, and Mahela Jayawardene. The three Kings of Lankan cricket will have to be at the top of their game, if the hosts are to down the tourists.
Sri Lanka Probable XI:
1 Mahela Jayawardene, 2 Dinesh Chandimal, 3 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 4 Nuwan Kulasekara, 5 Lasith Malinga, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Kumar Sangakkara, 8 Upul Tharanga, 9 Chamara Kapugedera, 10 Thisara Perera, 11 Sachithra Senanayake
Pakistan Probable XI:
1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Hammad Azam, 4 Saeed Ajmal, 5 Shahid Afridi, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Umar Akmal, 8 Umar Gul, 9 Mohammad Sami, 10 Khalid Latif /Haris Sohail, 11 Raza Hasan/ Shakeel Ansar
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