Sri Lanka vs Pakistan - 2nd ODI - Sri Lanka and Pakistan will face each other today in the second of the five-match One Day International (ODI) series at Pallekele.
The visitors won the initial match of the series in a comprehensive manner by six wickets and outclassed the Islanders with both bat and ball. Going into the second match with a lead of 1-0, the Green Shirts have momentum on their side and will not throw
away the advantage easily.
Considering the strength of Misbah ul Haq’s men in the spin-bowling department and their batsmen’s vulnerability against the moving ball, Sri Lanka have so far prepared pitches in the limited-overs series which have assisted the seam bowlers. However, Pakistan’s
fast bowlers have proved that they are better than http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 in this department of the game as well.
The first ODI turned out to be a low-scoring encounter and unless the conditions change drastically, one expects the fast bowlers to play a crucial role in the second match as well.
Pakistan’s bowling looks to be in great shape in the presence of six bowlers, who can bowl their full quota of 10 overs. It provides a massive luxury to their skipper, who does not have to depend on individual brilliance in the bowling department, even though
he has some of the world’s top bowlers like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saeed-Ajmal-c87859.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397 admitted after the match that Pakistan have one of the best bowling attacks of the globe and his young batsmen will have to lift their game in the second match in order to match the brilliance of the Men in Green.
"They are wicket-taking bowlers and are creating opportunities. We discussed it is important we don't give too many wickets upfront with the new ball especially to those three guys. Once you expose the middle order, then they get
some quality spinners and it's going to be tough for the rest of the batsmen," Jayawardene expressed.
The likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Akmal-c94595 looked solid under trying circumstances but Pakistan have some work to do in this field. Another worry for the Green Shirts is their fielding, which was not up to the mark as they dropped four catches
and looked patchy.
The Pakistan skipper feels that fielding can be hard at times at the Pallekele’s stadium because of its open structure and strong winds.
Misbah said, "The conditions were really difficult for batting, but the way Hafeez and Umar batted, it was really handy. We have to improve in these conditions - it's a windy and open ground. It's difficult to judge, so we have to
work hard."
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have problems of their own and will have to lift their game with both bat and ball, if they are to challenge Pakistan. The home team’s major concern is their top-heavy batting line-up, which does not
get any support from the middle and the late-middle order.
The youngsters like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/WU-Tharanga-c2802 need to improve their game against quality spinners otherwise Sri Lanka will struggle once again to post a competitive total on the board.
One does not expect Jayawardene’s men to go down easily at their own backyard and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 will have to stay on their toes to go 2-0 up in the series.
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