England, Sri Lanka seek revival

Both sides target first win to keep tri-series hopes alive

England will be desperate to get their campaign back on track when they face Sri Lanka in the second match of the ODI tri-series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

The match will start at 1pm.

Both teams have lost their opening matches against Pakistan, who have emerged as a formidable side despite some shortcomings in their batting. England and Sri Lanka will therefore be under pressure to improve their performances and keep their hopes of reaching the final alive.

Harry Brook-led England, who recently defeated Sri Lanka in an ODI series at the latter's backyard, will need to address several weaknesses exposed in Tuesday's 87-run defeat by Pakistan.

Despite showing some resistance in the top order, England's batsmen failed to build on their starts and lost wickets in clusters. They also struggled against short-pitched and back-of-a-length deliveries on a double-paced surface, with Pakistan's seamers exploiting conditions effectively..

Sam Curran, Ben Duckett and Joe Root fell to Pakistan's pace attack, while left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas proved even more damaging, claiming 6-40 to dismantle the visitors.

Chasing 303, England appeared well placed at 165-3 before a dramatic collapse saw them dismissed for 215, handing Pakistan a convincing victory.

Pakistan also benefited from missed chances in the field. Gus Atkinson dropped Hasan Nawaz at backward square leg when he was on 28, while Minhas was also dropped three times. The most costly miss came when Minhas edged Curran behind on 12, but wicket-keeper Jordan Coxh failed to hold the catch after diving to his left.

Minhas later bowled England captain Harry Brook for five with a delivery that dipped and straightened, showcasing the accuracy and variation that made him the standout performer of the match.

Brook acknowledged England's failure to build partnerships after an encouraging start from Tom Banton and Duckett.

“We thought Banton, Duckett set the tone to get a 100 partnership and then it was a case of losing too many wickets in clumps, we couldn’t string the partnerships together and we ended up on the wrong side,” Brook said.

“We’ve spoken a lot about rotation of strike through the middle but I think we were a little too careful against the spinners especially, so we can probably put them under a little bit more pressure in stages and we’ve got to tonight to talk about it.”

England must also improve with the ball. Although they reduced Pakistan to 81-4, they failed to maintain the pressure and allowed the hosts to recover and pass 300.

Pakistan's batsmen capitalised on loose deliveries.

England will hope that their first outing in Pakistan has provided valuable lessons and that greater familiarity with the conditions will help them produce a more disciplined performance against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will also be looking to recover after letting a promising position slip against Pakistan. They recently played a T20I series against the hosts and finished that campaign with an emphatic eight-wicket victory in the final match.

In the ODI opener, however, Sri Lanka's lack of composure at a crucial stage proved costly. Chasing 306, they were well placed at 253-5 before losing their final five wickets for just 15 runs.

Pakistan's pace attack deserves credit for the turnaround. Faheem Ashraf broke a threatening partnership by dismissing Pavan Rathnayake for 79, while Haris Rauf removed Janith Liyanage for 60 to swing the match in Pakistan's favour.

Both England and Sri Lanka need to raise their game if they are to remain in contention for the final.

Pakistan moved to Lahore on Wednesday, with the remaining four matches of the tri-series scheduled to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium. The top two teams will qualify for the final on October 31.