Cricket: Pakistan aim to tame revitalised Sri Lanka

Captain Misbah says hosts looking to learn from mistakes as teams contest 3rd ODI today.

DUBAI: Pakistan will be looking to hit back in the One-Day International (ODI) series as they contest the third match against a rejuvenated Sri Lanka side today.

Captain Misbahul Haq hopes his team can learn from its mistakes and show improvement after they won the first of five matches by eight wickets last week but allowed Sri Lanka to level the series with a 25-run victory in the second on Monday.

Misbah said his team made mistakes in all three departments, letting the tourists off the hook and allowing them to bounce back in the series.

“We discussed about mistakes committed in the last game,” he said. “We dropped a catch, then gave away 17 extra runs and lost early wickets while batting so we need to overcome those mistakes if we want to win the next game.”

Fielding still a concern

Pakistan’s fielding, which was already criticised during the preceding Test series that Pakistan won 1-0, was again a cause for concern while Sri Lanka were sharp and agile, effecting three run-outs, including the crucial one of Shahid Afridi in the

final overs.

Misbah agreed Sri Lanka were ahead in the department. “They definitely have an edge in fielding and that’s where we have to catch up with them because they effected good run-outs of Abdul Razzaq and Afridi,” said Misbah.

Selection dilemmas will again face Pakistan, who are likely to make changes for the third match after fielding an unchanged playing-eleven in the first two games.

While Pakistan head coach Mohsin Khan said the changes will only be named at the start of the match, Sri Lanka were forced to summon left-arm paceman Chanaka Welegedara from Colombo after Suranga Lakmal broke down with an ankle injury and was ruled out of the remaining matches.

Dilshan upbeat

Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan said his team is determined to carry the momentum from Monday. The team recorded its first win of the tour and Dilshan said the turnaround was crucial for the side.

“We played some good cricket and can take a lot of positives into the third game because that’s an important match for both the teams as they can take lead in the series,” said Dilshan, who has yet to win a series since being appointed captain in May.

Dilshan said he was enjoying support from the Sri Lankan fans who came in big numbers in the first two matches.

“It’s great to see so many Sri Lankans turning up and in between overs we feel the noise,” said Dilshan. “We hope more people come [today], which is a holiday here, it gives you encouragement.”

The remaining matches will be played in Sharjah, on November 20, and in Abu Dhabi three days later. The series will end with a Twenty20 in Abu Dhabi.

Misbah

“We discussed the mistakes we committed. We dropped a catch, then gave away 17 extra runs and lost early wickets while batting so we need to overcome those mistakes if we want to win the next game.”

 Dilshan

“We played some really good cricket and can take a lot of positives into the third game because that is an extremely important match for both the teams as they can go into the lead in the series if they win this encounter.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th,  2011.