Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
The big question leading into this series was which Pakistan would show up? Champions Trophy Pakistan or inconsistent Pakistan?
Pakistan answered that question pretty convincingly, beating Sri Lanka so easily, that has us questioning how competitive this series will actually be.
Man of the Match Shoaib Malik gave the Pakistan innings that extra push in the middle overs, giving Babar Azam, who was striking in the 60s for a while, important support. Pakistan reached a solid 292/6 in conditions they know very well.
It proved to be way too much. Pakistan’s bowlers were just too good for Sri Lanka, with no Pakistan bowler conceding more than 5.44 runs per over. That man, Rumman Raees, took three wickets. Sri Lanka face a tough fight bouncing back in the UAE heat (not bowling first will help).
Here are some stats highlights from Pakistan’s thumping win:
- Babar Azam‘s 103 was his 6th ODI century in just 32 innings. To put it in perspective:
– AB De Villiers’ first ODI century came in his 37th innings
– Sachin Tendulkar’s first came in his 70th innings!
– Virat Kohli achieved his 6th ODI century in 64 innings
– Ahmed Shahzad (80 innings) & Shahid Afridi (390 innings), also have 6 ODI centuries
- Since 2015, Shoaib Malik has scored 1,356 ODI runs at an average of 54.24. Like fine wine, Shoaib Malik is getting better with age.
- Hasan Ali is just 5 wickets away from 50 ODI wickets. This is having played only 22 matches. In 2017, he has taken 34 wickets at 18.94, helping Pakistan winning the Champions Trophy along the way. A star in the making.
- Sri Lanka have now lost 8 ODIs in a row, which was the case in 1998-1999 as well.
- In 2017, Sri Lanka have lost 17 out of 22 ODIs (19% win rate), with one No Result. Only the West Indies have a worse win rate of 18%. What is most concerning is that Sri Lanka hold this record even having played Bangladesh and Zimbabwe at home.
