Pakistan may have a distinct advantage in bowling. However, both teams would probably rest their star bowlers for this non-match. Here is a Sri Lanka vs Pakistan match preview.
Without including the outcome between India and Afghanistan on Thursday night, 16 out of the last 18 games played in Dubai have been won by the chasing team. Only Scotland and Hong Kong have lost when batting second. Overall against Pakistan, Sri Lanka has only won eight T20Is and lost 13. They had previously won three straight games, but that was in 2019.
Pakistan’s top batsman, Babar Azam with a 117 strike rate in four innings, and 33 runs, is currently having a bad run. The low scores have no evident cause; therefore, it may be a combination of confidence and luck. In either case, you don’t think he will be unconscious for long. He may have a chance to recover if Sri Lanka chooses a weaker bowling attack for this game.
Currently, Charith Asalanka has taken 21 balls to score nine runs on hits of 0, 1, 8, and 0. He had previously been Sri Lanka’s best player at the T20 World Cup on these identical pitches, but he now seems to have hit a wall after also struggling to produce notable performances in a home T20 competition just before this competition.
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Sri Lanka vs Pakistan match preview
Both teams engaged in a lot of elite chasing to get here. When Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan, they ran down 176, breaking the Sharjah ground record. Perhaps even more spectacular than Pakistan’s successful 182-ball chase against India was Sri Lanka’s subsequent one-ball victory over India.
This batting order has a respectable body of performance behind it and will enter these next two matches with some confidence, even though Pakistan’s middle and lower orders crumbled against Afghanistan, leaving No. 10 Naseem Shah with the burden of scoring big blows to get them across the finish line.
Sri Lanka’s batting has just begun to improve more recently, and even then, it virtually always did so while they were chasing. They do have some destructive batters in the form of Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, though. Mohammad Rizwan, one of only two batters in the tournament to date with more than 200 runs, has been relied upon a little more extensively by Pakistan. He has 212 runs at an average of 70.66.
Pitch and Weather
The Dubai pitch is anticipated to favor the team batting second as usual, with possible dew formation in the second innings to hinder the bowlers. Because it will be the same surface that India and Afghanistan utilized on Thursday, it will be used and worn.
About Team
For Hasan Ali, Pakistan might give Naseem a break. Additionally, Shadab Khan might be rested and replaced with Usman Qadir.
In order to prevent Pakistan from scouting Wanindu Hasaranga before the final, Sri Lanka may decide to rest him and replace him with Jeffrey Vandersay. Asitha Fernando, who has been expensive, might be replaced by one of the younger quick bowlers, such as Matheesha Pathirana or Pramod Madushan, who would be making his debut if he plays.
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