Pakistan look to conquer: SL in quest for Asia Cup final spot

KARACHI: The Pakistan team is facing a major injury problem and the timing couldn’t have been worse. The Pakistanis take the field in the do-or-die Asia Cup Super Fours clash against co-hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo today (Thursday), fully aware that they cannot afford any slip-ups in the must-win game.

Pakistan will crash out of the race for Sunday’s final if they lose to Sri Lanka or the game is washed out, which is quite a big possibility considering the ongoing spell of wet weather there.

Pakistan are still smarting from a crushing 228-run defeat against India last Sunday and are in a tight spot as some of their key players are facing fitness problems. That was the reason why Pakistanis were forced to make five changes in their playing eleven for the crucial game against Sri Lanka. They have brought in batters Mohammad Haris, Saud Shakeel, pacers Waseem Junior and debutant Zaman Khan and spinner Mohammad Nawaz.

Misfiring opener Fakhar Zaman has been rested along with Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf and Nasim Shah, the in-form pacer who has been ruled out of the Asia Cup due to injury.

After starting the Asia Cup with a bang following big wins against Nepal and Bangladesh, Pakistan flopped miserably against India and will need to bounce back from the embarrassment of what was their worst ODI defeat in terms of runs against the Indians.

Playing at home, Sri Lanka would be a hard nut to crack, especially due to the fact that almost half of the Pakistani playing eleven for today’s game aren’t first choice players. Pakistan will certainly miss the pace duo of Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf as it remains to be seen whether inexperienced Zaman Khan and Waseem Jr would be able to rise to the occasion. Left-armer Nawaz hasn’t been in top form either while Saud and Haris could face problems considering that they join the playing line-up with little or no match practice. The onus would be on the senior duo of skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to lead from the front while Shaheen Afridi will need to be at his brilliant best if Pakistan are to tame Sri Lanka and set a date with India in the final. They will also need spinner Shadab Khan, who was out of sorts against India, to regain his magical touch in today’s must-win encounter. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s fate is not entirely in their own hands. If today’s game is washed out, then Sri Lanka will progress to the final on the basis of a superior run-rate. Pakistan’s players and millions of their fans back home will be hoping that the rain gods spare today’s match.