Shifting momentum: Tide of recent history against Pakistan
The tourists have lost all of their last three tours to Sri Lanka
Skipper Misbahul Haq paddle-sweeps a ball in the nets as the team trains for the opening Test against Sri Lanka. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI:
Pakistan will be looking to battle against the tide of recent history when they take on hosts Sri Lanka on Wednesday at the Galle for the first match of their three-Test series.
The hosts will be without the retired Mahela Jayawardene, but he is not the only big name missing from the line-ups as off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is also out of the picture for now as he struggles with his remodelled action and is playing in England after not being selected for the series.
With both sides missing a proven match-winner, the series provides a chance for the youngsters to step up to the plate and fill the void left by the two greats.
Former cricketer Tauseef Ahmed believes Pakistan have a good opportunity to win the series this time around after tasting defeat in all of the last three tours to the Island — losing in 2009, 2012 and 2014.
“With Jayawardene retired, Pakistan have a good chance of beating Sri Lanka at their home,” Tauseef told The Express Tribune. “Their main battle would be against living legend Kumar Sangakkara because he has always scored heavily against us. If Pakistan can get him out early, then they can have a real go at the other batsmen because Sangakkara is the kind of player who keeps his partners in their comfort zone while batting with them.”
The wicketkeeper-batsman leads the batting charts in Tests against Pakistan with 2,809 runs from 21 Tests at an average of 80.25 with as many as 10 hundreds and 11 fifties.
Rain on eve of match gives selection headache
The rain on the match’s eve has given the team management a selection headache as they might be tempted to change their initial plan of going with two specialist pacers and two spinners supported by Muhammad Hafeez.
“Initially, the plan was to play two pacers and both spinners Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar but that could change when the pitch is inspected on Wednesday,” said a team member. “We were not able to see the pitch as the ground was covered due to the rain and the showers just before the match could force us to change the side. We might go with three pacers and a spinner but that all depends on the pitch.”
Pakistan will miss Ajmal, says Latif
Former captain Rashid Latif feels that Pakistan will miss Ajmal as there are plenty of left-handers in the Sri Lankan squad and the selectors should have tried a new off-spinner.
“It was a chance for the selectors to try a new off-spinner as I feel Ajmal will be missed. When the opposition have so many left-handers, off-spinners play a vital role,” explained Latif. “The important thing will be to play the right combination looking at the pitch. Even if it had rained, they shouldn’t go with three pacers if it is a dry pitch. The ideal combination would be to go with two pacers and two spinners.”
The former wicketkeeper also hoped that Younus Khan would be able to become Pakistan’s highest run-getter in the Test format as his 8,547 runs are just 285 less than Javed Miandad’s record tally of 8,832 runs.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2015.
Pakistan will be looking to battle against the tide of recent history when they take on hosts Sri Lanka on Wednesday at the Galle for the first match of their three-Test series.
The hosts will be without the retired Mahela Jayawardene, but he is not the only big name missing from the line-ups as off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is also out of the picture for now as he struggles with his remodelled action and is playing in England after not being selected for the series.
With both sides missing a proven match-winner, the series provides a chance for the youngsters to step up to the plate and fill the void left by the two greats.
Former cricketer Tauseef Ahmed believes Pakistan have a good opportunity to win the series this time around after tasting defeat in all of the last three tours to the Island — losing in 2009, 2012 and 2014.
“With Jayawardene retired, Pakistan have a good chance of beating Sri Lanka at their home,” Tauseef told The Express Tribune. “Their main battle would be against living legend Kumar Sangakkara because he has always scored heavily against us. If Pakistan can get him out early, then they can have a real go at the other batsmen because Sangakkara is the kind of player who keeps his partners in their comfort zone while batting with them.”
The wicketkeeper-batsman leads the batting charts in Tests against Pakistan with 2,809 runs from 21 Tests at an average of 80.25 with as many as 10 hundreds and 11 fifties.
Rain on eve of match gives selection headache
The rain on the match’s eve has given the team management a selection headache as they might be tempted to change their initial plan of going with two specialist pacers and two spinners supported by Muhammad Hafeez.
“Initially, the plan was to play two pacers and both spinners Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar but that could change when the pitch is inspected on Wednesday,” said a team member. “We were not able to see the pitch as the ground was covered due to the rain and the showers just before the match could force us to change the side. We might go with three pacers and a spinner but that all depends on the pitch.”
Pakistan will miss Ajmal, says Latif
Former captain Rashid Latif feels that Pakistan will miss Ajmal as there are plenty of left-handers in the Sri Lankan squad and the selectors should have tried a new off-spinner.
“It was a chance for the selectors to try a new off-spinner as I feel Ajmal will be missed. When the opposition have so many left-handers, off-spinners play a vital role,” explained Latif. “The important thing will be to play the right combination looking at the pitch. Even if it had rained, they shouldn’t go with three pacers if it is a dry pitch. The ideal combination would be to go with two pacers and two spinners.”
The former wicketkeeper also hoped that Younus Khan would be able to become Pakistan’s highest run-getter in the Test format as his 8,547 runs are just 285 less than Javed Miandad’s record tally of 8,832 runs.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2015.