Pak Vs Sri Lanka: Hosts look to make history in Sharjah
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SHARJAH: As Pakistan will look to whitewash Sri Lanka, the fifth and last One Day International Cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played in Sharjah today (Monday).
Pakistan already have taken an assailable 4-0 lead in the five-match series after being whitewashed in the preceding Test series by the visitors.
Pakistan got victory against Sri Lanka by 83 runs in first one day international. While Pakistan secure victory by 32 runs and seven wickets in the second and third ODI.
Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmad said that his players have understood their individual roles in order to help the team keep winning matches.
There hasn’t been much for Sri Lanka to boast when it comes to their batting unit. If anything, they have consistently undone the good work done by their bowlers.
If they failed to chase down targets in the first two one-dayers, they failed to put enough runs on the board in the third and fourth as Pakistan romped home to seven-wicket wins.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s batting order has been clinical. Led by Babar Azam and complemented well by Shoaib Malik, they have had little to worry about. So much so, their debutant in the third game, Imam-ul-Haq, notched a maiden century to rub salt further into the Sri Lankan wounds.
The visitors’ bowling, however, has been in stark contrast to their batting. While Lahiru Gamage has been their best bowler in terms of returns with seven wickets in the four games, Suranga Lakmal has shown with his consistency. The spinners, though, haven’t had much luck or success in the one-day series so far.
But the same can’t be said about Pakistan’s bowlers. While the seamers have been top notch with Hasan Ali leading the way with 12 wickets in four games, Shadab Khan has impressed with eight. Hasan has been instrumental in the middle overs, drying up the runs and picking up wickets regularly to keep Sri Lanka in check. Mohammad Hafeez too has chipped in significantly in drying up the runs in the middle overs, even picking up the odd wicket. Hafeez, however, was reported for the third time for a suspect bowling action.
Teams (from):
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c&wk), Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Shahdab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Usman Shinwari, Ruman Raees, Junaid Khan, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq
Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga (c), Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana, Chamara Kapugedara, Thisara Perera, Seekuge Prasanna, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay
