Pakistan plan to thrash Sri Lanka to seal win

KARACHI: Pakistan are set to face Sri Lanka, after Tuesday's 67-run victory, for the final One-day International, on Wednesday at Karachi's National Stadium. 

Monday night’s win means that the Pakistanis cannot lose the three-match ODI series, which they lead 1-0. Last Friday’s opening game was abandoned without a ball bowed because of heavy rain.

The hosts are expected to enjoy another walk in the park when they take the field for the third and final ODI at the National Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. An expected victory would give them a 2-0 sweep of the series, their first since failing to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup in England.

The Pakistan players were given an off day on Tuesday. Most of them spent the day in their hotel swimming pool and gym. “It was a day for them to recover and most of them headed for the pool,” a team official said.

If Imam out then Abid Ali in

Pakistan are likely to pick an unchanged eleven for today’s game but they could be forced to make one change in case opener Imam-ul-Haq is ruled out of it because of a hand injury. The left-hander cut the web of his right hand while fielding in the game on Monday night and was forced to miss the rest of the match.

A team official said that the injury wasn’t a serious one as Imam didn’t need any stitches. “But team officials will see him in the nets before the game tomorrow and then decide whether he was fit to play the match,” he said.

In case Imam fails to prove his fitness, Pakistan will mostly likely include Abid Ali in the line-up. The 31-year-old has just played three ODIs despite being a prolific first-class batsman.

Left-arm pacer Usman Shinwari, who took five wickets on Monday, will get another opportunity to cement his place in Pakistan’s ODI squad. With pacers like Hasan Ali and Junaid Khan out of the picture at the moment, this is a perfect chance for Shinwari to join Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz in the list of Pakistan’s first-choice pacers.

All eyes on Babar 

Meanwhile, all eyes will be on Babar Azam, who would be looking for his 12th ODI ton. Babar Azam has been dismissed for less than 60 in only one of his last five innings against Sri Lanka. He has three hundreds in that sequence. Babar’s also among five batsmen to have scored over 1000 ODI runs this calendar year. Among those batsmen, only Virat Kohli (64.40) has a higher 2019 average than Babar’s 62.41.

Sri Lanka, hoping to draw the series are expected to make one or two changes. Lahiru Kumara was expensive in the second ODI and could be replaced by Kasun Rajitha. Angelo Perera could come be included in the top order. Pakistan have now won their seven most-recent (completed) matches against Sri Lanka - a streak that goes back to 2017.

A fresh pitch will be provided for the third ODI. Expect a similar surface - one that is reasonably good for batting for 80 overs or so, and takes a little spin, before slowing down towards the end of the game. There’s only a small chance of rain.

Teams (likely):

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Usman Shinwari.

Sri Lanka (possible): Lahiru Thirimanne (captain), Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwan Pradeep. –with inputs from agencies third odi Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 3:00 pm PST