 Sri Lanka will look to make a clean sweep of the three-test match series against
Pakistan when the duo meets at the SSC stadium in Colombo on Monday. Sri
Lanka have already won the series 2-0, their first ever win against Pakistan at
home, but will look to drill home the advantage of playing against a team which
hasn't played too many test matches for the last 18 months or so.
Sri Lanka have named Chaminda Vaas in their side in place of off-spinner
Suraj Randiv, but it remains to be seen whether he does get to play in the game.
After all, the Lankan pace trio of Nuwan Kulasekera, Angelo Mathew and
Thilan Thushara have done a great job in playing both the roles, of restricting
and picking up wickets at regular intervals.
However, it is the form of Ajantha Mendis that could just be a slight
worry for the Lankans. He has been picked up rather well by the Pakistanis and
has looked as threatening as a baby in a cradle. On the other hand, the Lankans
would be pleased as a punch with the way Rangan Herath has filled up the boots
of the injured Muthiah Muralitharan, who has been ruled out of this game as
well!
The batting has been reasonable for Sri Lanka, steady, but shorn of
the big hundreds that one comes to expect from the likes of Mahela Jayawardene
and Thilan Samaraweera.
Pakistan will be a worried lot. They were in a position to win both the games,
but mighty batting collapses on three out of the four innings put paid to their
aspirations in the series. Now, there have been talks of in-fighting amongst
the players like Shoaib Malik and Younus Khan, something that can have a detrimental
effect on the morale.
However, things can suddenly change for an enigmatic team like Pakistan, as
has been the case so far. Their batting is currently over-dependent on the duo
of the captain and Mohammad Yousuf and a failure from both has seen many
a batting collapses. This could mean that the other batsmen need to take more
onus and try and get something going.
One does get the feel that Abdul Razzaq is getting wasted in the dressing
room and needs to be a part of the playing eleven. He will add variety to both,
the batting and the bowling and could prove to be a surprise element in the
side. Salman Butt will continue to warm the benches, as Fawad Alam's
brilliant 150 should seal his place in the side, while the bowling department,
though lacklustre in parts, will almost invariably remain untouched.
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