http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 and Kumar Sangakkara look to gain advantage in group ‘A’
Two former World Champions clash as co-hosts Sri Lanka take on Pakistan in a crucial ICC 2011 World Cup group ‘A’ match at Colombo.
Sri Lanka would start as the favorites of this encounter considering their recent performances in international cricket and the balance of the side. However, no team in the world can under-estimate the Men in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Green-c60723 as they can be unbeatable on their day.
Both the Asian teams have started their World Cup campaign in strongly as Sri Lanka outplayed Canada, and, Pakistan dismantled Kenya in their respective opening matches of the mega event.
However, it would be the first big test for both the teams because this encounter could prove to be crucial in the outcome of the standings of the teams after the group stage.
The hosts would have a clear advantage because of their leader, Kumar Sangakara, who seems to have the ability to cope with the pressure much better than his Pakistani counterpart.
Sri Lankan batting revolves around the trio of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, and, Mahela Jayawardene, while the others can bat around them and help their team post big scores on the board on a regular basis.
However, Sri Lankan batting can be found wondering if the big three do not perform up to the mark.
Sri Lanka did not play their premier strike bowler Lasith Malinga against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748 but he is expected to appear against Pakistan in the crunch match, which is definitely going to give a boost to the Sri Lankan bowling. With the likes of Muralitharan, Mendis and Kulasekra, Sri Lanka’s bowling attack is formidable one considering the conditions.
On the other hand, Pakistan looked shaky at the start of the match against Kenya but recovered well through a solid performance by the middle order batsmen.
However, there is a huge difference between the quality of bowling of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752 and Sri Lanka, so it is going to be a real test for the Cornered Tigers to put on a big score against the host nation.
The biggest positive for Pakistan was the form displayed by the Akmal brothers against Kenya because both of them score their runs at a brisk pace and possess the ability to change the complexion of the match within a short period of time.
The only concern for Pakistani batting remains at the top of the order. It is imperative for the openers to give a solid start to their team against a strong team like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758.
Pakistani bowling looks good but their performance with the new ball has not been up to the mark recently as both Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq can go for plenty in the first power-play.
If Afridi and company are able to contain the Sri Lankan batsmen during the first 15 overs of the innings, Sri Lanka would not find it easy to score against the Men in Green.
Although, Sri Lanka is considered as one of the favorites of this event, Pakistani coach, Waqar Younis, is optimistic about his team’s chances as he said today that, “ It is an important game. For this tournament, for momentum it is important and to get to the quarter-finals, and in which position you get there, in that sense very important. If you want to go ahead, you have to build momentum so you treat all the teams as one. Sri Lanka at home is very difficult to beat. But the way we've played and trained, I am hopeful we can beat them”.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope that both teams can play up to their potential and display high quality cricket, which would be a treat to watch for cricket fans all around the world.
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