 Pakistan play Sri Lanka in the second ODI of the five-match series at Dubai. The
two teams have already played in a Test series that Pakistan won 1-0 and
will now look to build on the 1-0 lead that they took in the ODI series.
Pakistan won the first game of the series in a manner that they would have
been proud of. They won by eight wickets but more importantly they were able
to win it with 29 overs to spare and that meant that Sri Lanka will be
thinking what went wrong.
Click for Live Score Card of Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka
The batting was an obvious problem. The Sri Lankan batting in the Tests was an
issue and it seemed to have continued in the ODIs as well. In the first match,
the side got out for a sub-140 total with only two of their players even getting
into the 20s. how they manage to get the better of their own batting remains to
be.
Mahela Jayawardene's form will be a huge concern. He has not had the best of
the times in either tests or ODIs while having struggled against Australia as
well. What will be further worrying is that he is playing on pitches similar
to the ones at home. Where Sri Lanka struggle even further is that Angelo Matthews is not bowling - which means that the side has to get going with
an extra batsman in the team.
Dinesh Chandimal is the obvious man to look out for the side, but he will need
to convert his starts into something monumental to make it count for his side.
Pakistan were obviously propped by their spinners. Shahid Afridi, Mohammad
Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal had a great time, taking seven of the wickets
to fall and that was the difference between the two sides. Afridi was the man
of the match on his return to ODI cricket and that meant that he will continue
to be a thorn in the flesh of the side.
Among the rest, Hafeez did not get the runs in the match and that will mean that
he will have much to worry for the Sri Lankan side. So will be Lasith Malinga's
form, which means that Sri Lanka will have a lot to worry about.
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