TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsThings were going well for Pakistan in the first week of the Asia Cup 2023. They had brushed Nepal aside, bowled a strong Indian line-up for a modest 266, and made a mockery of Bangladesh in the Super Fours. However, in the following game against India, they were handed a reality check.
Pakistan head coach Grant Bradburn did not mince his words following his side’s 228-run loss, thanking India for their ‘gift'. “We don’t get to play some of the best players in the world very often. We haven’t lost a game of cricket for the last three months, so it’s a timely reminder that we need to turn up every day, put in our best on the park, and it’s actually a gift in the last two days we haven’t done that,” he said.
To add to their woes, their pace trio has turned into the last man standing as Naseem Shah is out due to a shoulder injury and Haris Rauf is doubtful for the remainder of the tournament, leaving Shaheen Afridi the only frontline pace option. Pakistan have also added Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan, who have a combined experience of two ODIs, between them as covers.
In a virtual semi-final against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, who looked a formidable force, at least with their pace bowling department, are in tatters, and it certainly does not bode well with the World Cup around the corner.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have bowled out their opposition on 14 continuous occasions, and despite their loss against India, they could still prove to be a thorn in Pakistan’s flesh, given how inconsistent the latter's batting has been.
The equation is simple: The winner of the match will play India in the final on Sunday (September 17). However, if the game is washed out, Sri Lanka, with the virtue of having a better net run-rate than Pakistan, will go through.
Things to watch out for
Contrasting form of spinners
The Sri Lankan spinners once again came to the party against India, as they got all the wickets in the game. In fact, they have been the most successful spin unit in the tournament, having picked up 40 wickets at 22.6, striking once every 26.6 deliveries.
There were doubts if they could get the job done in the absence of their premier spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, but they ensured that he was not missed much.
Dunith Wellalage ripped through the Indian batting line-up, picking up his maiden fifer, and is currently the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with nine scalps, while Maheesh Theekshana, on the other hand, has been the best spin bowler in ODIs this year with 30 scalps, behind Kuldeep Yadav (31).
On the contrary, Pakistan spinners have been horrid in ODIs since 2021, having picked up just 75 wickets (Avg 40.5, SR 43.9). Only England (62) and New Zealand (58) have picked up fewer wickets. In the same period, Pakistan's frontline spinner Shadab Khan has managed just 23 wickets at 40 in 20 innings. It's an opportunity for him and Pakistan to turn it around in this game.
Pakistan's top three
It's been an all-or-nothing sort of year for Imam-ul Haq, who has been dismissed under 25 on six occasions, however, when he has crossed 25, he has turned those into fifties on five occasions. The story has been a tad different for his opening partner Fakhar Zaman, who in his last nine innings, has managed just 186 runs at 20.7 (SR 67). However, in the five innings before that, Fakhar slammed three hundreds and a fifty.
But given the magnitude of this game, Pakistan have benched Fakhar and replaced him with Mohammad Haris, who is likely to open for the first time in List A cricket. He has never batted above five in his 50-over career so and will certainly be a challenge for the man from Peshawar.
The fact that Babar Azam has failed in his last two games is certainly a cause for concern - not for Pakistan - but for Sri Lanka. Babar has been dismissed under 20 in consecutive innings just twice in his career. In the following three innings, however, he followed that up with three back-to-back 50-plus scores. Will the pattern continue this time around too?
Pitch and conditions
While the numbers would suggest that the pacers (22) and the spinners (26) have picked up an almost equal amount of wickets, 16 wickets fell to spin in the India-Sri Lanka game on Tuesday (September 12) at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. The role of the spinners will keep increasing in the remainder of the tournament, but with the continuous rains in the city, there could be something in for the pacers, especially in the early stages of the innings.
All three matches at the RPS have seen the team batting first go on to win the game and the captain winning the toss will be keen to put runs on the board despite the rain threat.
Tactical nous
> While Imam-ul-Haq has proved to be a solid opener in the past, his record against left-arm orthodox bowlers has dipped considerably, especially since 2020. He averages just 16.3 against them in ODIs in this period, and even overall, his average (34.8) against such bowlers is the lowest. While Sri Lanka have opened the bowling with Theekshana in the tournament, for this game, it would not be a bad idea to have the in-form Wellalage have a go at him.
> Kusal Mendis is the glue in Sri Lanka's middle-order that holds that batting together. However, he has been susceptible against pacers. In ODIs this year, he has fallen to fast bowlers 12 out of the 15 times, averaging a mediocre 17 and striking at just 76.98 against them. Moreover, getting him in during the powerplay as he averages just 26.6 (SR 79) in the first 10, compared to 42.8 (SR 93) after that.
Team combination
Pakistan
Having announced their squad for the fixture, they have made five changes. As mentioned earlier, Fakhar misses out as Haris replaces him at the top. Saud Shakeel has been brought in place of Agha Salman in the middle-order, and Mohammed Wasim Jr. take the place of the injured Naseem Shah. Faheem Ashraf and Haris Rauf also miss out, with Pakistan bringing in Zaman Khan (debut) and Mohammad Nawaz.
Playing XI: Mohammad Haris, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Zaman Khan.
Sri Lanka
Despite their loss to India, the Lankans may not tweak their side unless they have an injury.
Probable XI: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana.
