Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
Match Preview: Pakistan v Sri Lanka, 4th ODI, Sharjah
The last few months have captured the beauty of Pakistan Cricket.
In my review of the 3rd ODI, I wrote about Pakistan’s turn of fortunes during the Champions Trophy, and how no one surely could’ve predicted it. Pakistan were slammed for their performance in the Group B game vs India, which they lost by 124 runs.
Here they are, on the brink of 8 straight ODI wins, and if we’re being serious, on the verge of 10 straight wins, with 2 ODIs still remaining.
Sri Lanka look shot for confidence. Their 2017 continues to go downhill. They remain stuck at 4 wins, with only one against a team other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh.
Key to victory for Pakistan
Encourage the youngsters to keep expressing themselves.
The 4th ODI, already a dead-rubber with the series won, is the perfect chance to tell the youngsters to keep the momentum.
How good was Imam Ul Haq on debut?
Hasan Ali continues to rise.
Shadab Khan is just 19 years old. 19 years old!
Pakistan in the space of a few months have completely turned around their fortunes.
Key to victory for Sri Lanka
Throw caution to the wind.
Enough is enough for Sri Lanka. It’s time to play without the pressure of losing.
The fact that the 4th ODI is a dead-rubber may actually be a blessing for Sri Lanka. With the series gone, this is an opportunity to go out and play with more freedom.
Upul Tharanga has been superb in this series, but the middle order really needs to show more steel. The bowlers have been OK, especially in the 2nd ODI, and are probably Sri Lanka’s best chance of ending their awful ODI run.
Who needs to step up?
Want to see more from Junaid Khan for Pakistan. He has deserved more than just two wickets at 40.50 in this series – his talent suggests he should be taking more wickets.
For Sri Lanka, it’s Dinesh Chandimal. His 49-ball 19 in the 3rd ODI, at a crucial stage, wasn’t pretty at all. Throw caution to the wind, Dinesh.
Possible teams
Pakistan look stable, despite the news Mohammad Hafeez has been reported for a suspect bowling action yet again. He is expected to play.
Pakistan: 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Mohammad Hafeez, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (c and wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Rumman Raees, 9 Shadab Khan, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Junaid Khan
Sri Lanka: 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Upul Tharanga (c), 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Milinda Siriwardana, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Dushmantha Chameera, 9 Akila Dananjay, 10 Jeffrey Vandersay, 11 Lahiru Gamage
Stats & Facts:
- Upul Tharanga has scored 191 runs at 90.50 this series, including carrying his bat through Sri Lanka’s loss in the 2nd ODI. The rest of the Sri Lankan team have scored just 379 (excluding extras).
- The 3rd ODI was the first time in six matches in the UAE that Babar Azam failed to score a century
- Imam-ul-Haq became the first Pakistani in 22 years to score a century in ODI debut, while Hasan Ali became the fastest Pakistani to reach 50 ODI wickets.
- If Sri Lanka lose this game, it will be their 2nd ever worst losing streak in ODIs (11). Their worst is 14 straight losses in 1987-88.
- Last five ODIs for each team reads: Pakistan WWWWW Sri Lanka LLLLL
Can’t see how Sri Lanka will win this game. Pakistan have all the running and look good for another comfortable victory. In a disappointing series so far, let’s hope for a competitive game of cricket…
