Each Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the moment maintain two factors every, and the victor of this pivotal conflict will advance to the ultimate, scheduled for September 17.
India have already secured their place within the championship match after a commanding 41-run victory over Sri Lanka in a Tremendous 4 contest on Tuesday. Rohit Sharma’s squad leads the desk with 4 factors.
Nevertheless, Pakistan face a frightening problem as they put together for his or her essential encounter with Sri Lanka.
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In all chance, Pakistan might be unable to area pacers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah, each of whom are uncertain as a consequence of accidents. As a contingency plan, Pakistan has included Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan, a 22-year-old slinging quick bowler able to hitting speeds of 150 kmph, as backups for the rest of the Asia Cup.
Nonetheless, that is simply one of many myriad considerations for Pakistan. Their batting lineup has but to hit its stride within the match, apart from a formidable complete of 342 for six towards minnows Nepal within the Asia Cup opener in Multan.
Primarily, Pakistan closely depends on their opening duo – Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq – in addition to their captain, Babar Azam, to ship vital runs. Urgently wanted are contributions from gamers like Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha.
Iftikhar Ahmed demonstrated his power-hitting skills with a scintillating century towards Nepal, however he should replicate such performances constantly towards stronger opponents.
Sri Lanka undoubtedly falls into the class of formidable adversaries. Though Pakistan defeated them by seven wickets in a league match, the previous outcomes is not going to carry a lot weight on this high-stakes encounter.
Regardless of the absence of a number of first-choice gamers, Sri Lanka, underneath the management of Dasun Shanaka, has confirmed their mettle by defeating Bangladesh and placing up a battle towards India.
Sri Lanka, too, has been affected by accidents main as much as the match, with key gamers like Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, and Lahiru Kumara dominated out. This has necessitated the fielding of a younger and comparatively inexperienced facet. Nevertheless, gamers akin to Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana, and Maheesh Theekshana have showcased spectacular performances all through the match.
With that mentioned, Sri Lanka hopes for larger consistency from their pacers, significantly Kasun Rajitha, who has claimed 4 wickets in as many matches however has conceded almost six runs an over.
Sri Lanka may depend on their spinners to duplicate their distinctive efficiency towards India on a pitch providing substantial flip and grip. Left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage’s five-wicket haul dismantled India’s formidable top-order, suggesting that Sri Lanka might put together an identical pitch to counter Pakistan’s tempo battery, led by left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Squads:
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (travelling reserve). Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan (back-ups for injured Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah).
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanaka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis (vice-captain), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushan Hemantha, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan.
