Sri Lanka vs Pakistan – 4th ODI – Match Preview
After a washout in the third One Day International (ODI), http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 will take on Pakistan in the fourth of the five-match series on Saturday at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. The series is still level with both teams having won
a fixture each.
The weather in Colombo played spoilsport over the last week and Sri Lankan cricket officials have named reserved days for the final two ODIs in case further rain interruptions wash out the fixtures.
The Green Shirts have enjoyed a massive psychological edge over the Islanders since the last 14 months and after a victory in the first ODI at Pallekele, experts were expecting http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 to run away with the show.
However, this has not been the case as Mahela Jaywardene’s men bounced back in the second match to show that they wont lose ground without a fight.
Despite Misbah ul Haq’s men having a very good record at the Premadasa, where conditions assist them, they will have to come up with top quality cricket to surpass the Lankan http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lions-c808.
The problem with the Islanders is that they rely too heavily on their three senior players, Jayawardene, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TM-Dilshan-c2691. At least one of them has to fire if Sri Lanka is to have any chance of taking a lead
after the fourth match, given how the rest of the batting line-up miserably struggled to cope with the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saeed-Ajmal-c87859.
Jayawardene expressed last week that his players need to raise their game because the Green Shirts have one of the best bowling attacks in the world, especially in the limited-overs format of the game.
"We haven't played that well against Pakistan [at the R Premadasa Stadium]. It's up to us to challenge ourselves. Pakistan are a quality team. The bowling unit, with the variations they have, has the fire power to play in any conditions,
that that is why they are successful in these conditions,” the Sri Lanka skipper mentioned.
Pakistan, on the other hand, are favourites to clinch the series and have everything to lose in the last two matches in Colombo. Their skipper, Misbah is also under immense pressure to deliver the goods, if he wants to retain his
position.
After the loss in the second ODI, the seasoned middle-order batsman urged his team to take the rest of the series with a ‘do or die’ approach as the team cannot afford to lose the competition against Sri Lanka.
Misbah said, “After Saturday’s loss there is no margin for error and we will need to give our best tomorrow. Fielding is a very important factor when you are playing against top sides. We were a bit ordinary with the way we fielded
and bowled.”
The Men in Green are still trying to formulate the right combination in the 50-over format as they drafted http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Asad-Shafiq-c46208 in the playing-XI for the third match in place of a bowler. However, it remains to be seen which combination Pakistan
opts to go with in tomorrow’s fixture.
Incidentally, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898, the vice-captain, was injured yesterday during the nets but according to reports he should be fit for Saturday’s game. The all-rounder’s performance however, has been below par with the bat and he must
start scoring runs consistently at the top of the order in order to justify PCB’s decision to appoint him as captain of the T20 side.
With only two games to go and the series level at 1-1, the fourth game is absolutely crucial for the two teams and they will come out hard at each other to take an unassailable lead.
Tags: