Can Sri Lanka fix their horror record against Pakistan in World Cups?
Rex Clementine
in Hyderabad
Their recent record against Pakistan maybe excellent, but the fact of the matter is that Sri Lanka have never won a World Cup game against Pakistan. The record books say that they have met eight times with Pakistan winning seven and one game being washed out. It remains to be seen whether Sri Lanka can put an end to the losing trend today as these teams meet in Hyderabad.
Sri Lanka’s bowling that was found wanting in their opening World Cup fixture against South Africa in Delhi will try to bounce back today.
The good news from the Sri Lankan camp is that spinner Maheesh Theekshana has recovered sufficiently having been sidelined for three weeks with a hamstring injury. His return will be a huge relief for the former champions who are already missing Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera due to injuries.
It remains to be seen who will be left out with Theekshana returning. With Dhananjaya de Silva as the backup spinner Sri Lanka could opt to drop Dunith Wellalage.
Fast bowler Lahiru Kumara did not feature in the opening game and Sri Lanka will be looking at him too. They could play him instead of Matheesha Pathirana, whose ten overs cost 95 runs including 13 wides.
If that happens, it will be a harsh call on both the 20-year-olds, who had a tough baptism in their opening fixture in the World Cup.
No such problems for Pakistan who recorded a big 81 run win in their opening game against Netherlands also in Hyderabad. The Pakistan team has been based in this city of the Telangana State since their arrival in India. Pakistan’s movement across India during the World Cup is limited and they are restricted largely between the cities of Calcutta, Madras, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Their game against India has been slotted at Ahmedabad, a stadium that has a capacity of over 130,000.
Sri Lanka will be looking to get their act together after the poor show in Delhi. Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in an Asia Cup game, which literally turned out to be a semi-final. The hopes of Sri Lanka being able to match Pakistan are high.
The 1996 champions will fancy their chances against teams like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Netherlands, but if they were to have any hopes of going through to the semis, they need to beat some of the stronger teams and Pakistan will be one of those sides.
Against South Africa too they were expected to do well as the Proteas are suspect against spin. But a depleted bowling attack and short square boundaries had their work cut out.
Sri Lanka Squad:
Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Kumara, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka and Dushan Hemantha.
Pakistan squad:
Babar Azam (Captain), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.
Umpires:
Chris Gaffaney (NZ) and Alex Wharf (ENG)
Third Umpire:
Nitin Menon (IND)
Match Referee:
Andrew Pycroft (ZIM)
