 Sri Lanka takes on Pakistan in the first game of the Asia Cup. The match,
much like all the other games of the tournament will be played at Dambulla and
will see the two sides fight it out for early advantage in the tournament.
Click for Live Score Card of Sri Lanka Vs Pakistan
The format of the tournament is such that every team will get to play three
games each and the top two will go on to play in the final. The problem here
is that an early loss to any of the team will almost mean that they will need
to win both their remaining games if they needed to have any chance of going
through to the final and that will cause grave difficulties.
Both the teams will also know that one of the next team in the tournament is
India, and beating India will be a difficult proposition. So winning this first
game is as important as the rest of the games.
Sri Lanka will go into the tournament with a slightly new look to their
side. For one, there will be no Ajantha Mendis, and that means that the side
will look to rely on Muthiah Muralitharan and the new comer, Suraj Randiv,
with the comeback of Rangana Herath as one of the talking points of the selection.
Herath may not play in this game, but if he does, he will know how he was mauled
by Shahid Afridi in one of the ODIs, which had almost pegged back his career.
For the Lankan batting, Sanath Jayasuriya will be absent and Upul Tharanga
and T Dilshan will continue to open the innings. The pair had batted well in
the previous tri-series and will look to continue their good work.
Pakistan go into the series with, hopefully, a refreshed attitude. The captain,
Shahid Afridi, has taken over the leadership in all three formats, whereas the
return of Shoaib Akhtar and Malik makes for an interesting reading. What
will be the most interesting aspect of the game will be how Afridi manages both,
Malik and Akhtar, two firebrand of cricketers, who will both be tested on the
field.
Salman Butt should open the innings with all the eyes on Umar Akmal and the
likes. What should also be interesting to watch is how the bowling comes about
in the absence of Umar Gul, and in the presence of Shoaib Akhtar, who
will be returning back to the side after a long absence.
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