A big few weeks for Pakistan cricket begins on Friday when the country hosts international cricket again as Sri Lanka make the short trip over for a limited overs tour, which begins with three ODIs, the first of which comes from Karachi.
Both these sides failed to have the World Cup campaign they would have wanted when they left for England and as we begin another ODI cycle it remains to be seen what we are going to get from both, but given the mad passion for cricket in Pakistan whatever we get should be well received.
Pakistan
The coach has gone and the selectors have too so although Sarfaraz remains as the skipper there is something of a new era about Pakistan cricket and it is fitting that it will begin in their own country. What we need to see is whether there is a chance in approach from the accumulate runs steadily with a biff to finish and put the ball in the hands of our bowlers to get us over the line stance. That isn’t modern ODI cricket but to be fair it does still work to a point for Pakistan.
You would think that given the unknowns of Karachi with it not having hosted ODI cricket for a decade that the bowlers would have a bit more of an advantage in this match so that certainly suits Pakistan. We shouldn’t forget how big a deal this is for the nation though so the players who step out to represent them are going to be under pressure that they’ve not been under for quite some time.
Sri Lanka
A full strength Sri Lanka side is not the ODI force it once was these days but a weakened one could be absolutely anything. 10 senior players refused to travel for the tour which has ripped out a good deal of the side which battled in the World Cup. It could be that such a move turns out to be a blessing in disguise if some of their youngsters stake a real claim to be included in future squads in this format.
Sri Lanka have struggled with the ball in recent times. To be fair they went quite well in that department in England but the slightly tired tracks suited them. It remains to be seen whether these wickets in Pakistan will do likewise. Where they need to show improvement from the World Cup is their batting, especially deep in the innings where they had a flimsy look about them too much. It might be that Asian conditions sorts that out.
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Team News
Pakistan may choose to give Asif Ali a run out in this match after he was criminally underused in the World Cup. Mohamad Hasnain was recalled from the Caribbean Premier League so he could be in with a chance of inclusion straight away.
Sri Lanka will be without a number of senior players including Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews from the World Cup but the likes of Dasun Shanaka and Shehan Jayasuriya are set for another chance.
Betting
My gut feeling is that Sri Lanka have been written off a little too much here with quotes of 7/2. I know they are missing some players but this is only a 50 over match but I’ll bide my time and see how they perform and maybe look to get involved in them a little deeper into the tour. That means it is the side markets for a bet on this opening match.
The performance line of Dasun Shanaka has caught my eye for this match. It is 28.5 which looks a little on the low side to me. He has two 50s and a 40 with the bat in 20 ODIs and also a five wicket haul and three for in his last ODI. With the players that Sri Lanka are missing here you would think he is going to play a much bigger role than he is used to and so an average all-round game here should see him go beyond 28.5pts. He could in theory cover this with both the bat and the ball which makes the line look even better. I’ll take the over.
Tips
VOID – Back D.Shanaka’s Performance – Over 28.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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