An injury-hit Pakistan can have the robust activity of taming a high-spirited Sri Lanka after they lock horns in a Tremendous 4 match right here on Thursday for a spot within the Asia Cup remaining. Each Pakistan and Sri Lanka have two factors and the winner of the digital knock-out recreation will progress to the ultimate on September 17. India have already secured a spot within the summit conflict after they defeated Sri Lanka by 41 runs in a Tremendous 4 recreation on Tuesday. Rohit Sharma’s males lead the desk with 4 factors.
Nevertheless, Pakistan can have extra strains on their brow forward of their crunch recreation towards the Lankans.
Possibly, they will be unable to summon pacers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah as each of them have been rendered uncertain with respective accidents.
Pakistan have added Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan, a 22-year-old slinger pacer who can hit 150 kmph clicks, as back-ups for the rest of Asia Cup.
However that is only one a part of their bag of worries. Pakistan batting is but to hit the highest gear within the match, besides a 342 for six towards minnows Nepal within the Asia Cup opener at Multan.
Nevertheless, largely they’re depending on their openers – Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq – and captain Babar Azam for large runs.
They want some runs from the likes of Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha, and urgently too.
Iftikhar Ahmed confirmed his big-hitting prowess with a blistering hundred towards Nepal, however he wants to do this extra constantly towards higher oppositions.
Sri Lanka are positively considered one of them. Pakistan had defeated them by seven wickets in a league match however the previous won’t maintain for something on the morrow.
Whereas defeating Bangladesh and stretching India, the Lankans underneath Dasun Shanaka have proven that they aren’t mere pushovers regardless of the absence of some first-choice gamers.
Sri Lanka too had been hit laborious by accidents within the run-up to the match as key gamers like Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara had been dominated out.
It has pressured them to area a younger facet missing in expertise and publicity however gamers equivalent to Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana have give you some spectacular efforts within the match.
That mentioned the house facet will hope for some extra consistency from their pacers – notably from Kasun Rajitha, who has taken 4 wickets from as many matches however gave away almost six runs an over in all of the video games.
So, Lanka would possibly hope for his or her spinners to come back to celebration as soon as once more as they had been exemplary towards India on a pitch that provided loads of flip and grip.
They’d minimize by India’s sturdy top-order with left-arm spinner Wellalage taking 5 wickets.
Therefore, Lanka might supply an identical pitch to Pakistan as it could additionally nullify their tempo battery led by left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Squads:
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (travelling reserve). Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan (back-ups for injured Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah).
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanaka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis (vice-captain), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushan Hemantha, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan.
Match begins 3 PM IST.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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