Pakistan hope to conquer SL in bid to secure last-four spot

LONDON: When Pakistan last played in Cardiff, they seemed set to suffer a 5-0 whitewash at the hands of England in their One-day International series.

The tourists were thrashed by England in the first four games of the series and a fifth defeat in a row seemed very much on the cards when the two teams took to the field in Cardiff especially after England piled up 302-9 last September. But Sarfraz Ahmed (90) and Shoaib Malik (77) shepherded Pakistan to a face-saving four-wicket.

Pakistan will be expecting the duo as well as other team-mates to deliver a similar showing in their ICC Champions Trophy ‘quarter-final’ against Sri Lanka at the picturesque Sophia Gardens on Monday (today).

It’s a do-or-die clash, with the team winning the game securing a place in the semi-final. The losing side will head for home.

It’s a perfect situation for Pakistan, who are now looking to build up on the momentum that shifted their way after a 19-run win against South Africa in a rain-hit match at Edgbaston last Wednesday.

That result seems to have lifted Pakistan, something that was once again evident from their body language during a training session on Sunday.

Today’s match: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 02:30pm (PST)

The intent, as senior batsman Mohammad Hafeez pointed out on Sunday, of going out there and outperforming any opposition, seemed very much there.

But despite their new-found confidence, Pakistan can take nothing for granted against a fearless team like Angelo Mathews’ Sri Lanka. The Islanders, just like Pakistan, bounced back from a disappointing outing in their opening game (against South Africa) to stun title favourites India in a high-scoring encounter at The Oval last week.

Despite injuries to a number of players, the Sri Lankans exhibited their death-or-glory spirit in that must-win game and will now be gunning for Pakistan’s scalp.

Pakistan will once again be looking to their bowling attack to deliver after a potent show against the Proteas.

Spearheaded by Mohammad Amir, Pakistan’s pace arsenal looks good after the addition of left-armer Junaid Khan. Hasan Ali was in his element against South Africa and his team will be hoping that he will continue from where he left at Edgbaston. Amir went wicketless in the last two games despite bowling well. He is one bowler, who can provide Pakistan with much-needed boost today especially with the new ball.

Pakistan’s spin trio of Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim and Mohammad Hafeez were the primary reason why they restricted South Africa at Edgbaston. But the fresh Sophia Gardens wicket is unlikely to offer much assistance to the slow bowlers which is why Pakistan might think about coming out with a different plan against Sri Lanka.

In the match that features the seventh and eighth ranked teams on the ODI rankings, Sri Lanka will be without some of their frontline players like Chamara Kapugedara, Kusal Perera and Upul Tharanga. There were also doubts about the availability of Thisara Perera, who suffered a blow to his head during training. However, he is fit to play today.

Sri Lanka’s batting line-up has taken a hit following Kusal Perera’s exit as they will need to induct Dhananjaya de Silva, who recently joined the team, in the playing eleven.

Unlike The Oval which was bathed in glorious sunshine on Sunday, Cardiff is expected to provide a cloudy backdrop on Monday. The good news is that no rain is expected. A flat pitch and dry conditions should result in a high-scoring game.

Teams (likely):

Pakistan: Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan.

Sri Lanka: Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews (captain), Asela Gunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Pradeep.