The opening ODI of five between Pakistan and Sri Lanka takes place on Friday in Dubai with both teams looking to get off to a fast start in the series ahead of the Abu Dhabi leg which comes along next week.
Sri Lanka won the Test series recently and will be looking to take the positivity they got from that into these matches while Pakistan will be eager to put those behind them and move on in winning fashion.
Pakistan
There is no doubt Pakistan will have been disappointed to lose a Test series they were widely expected to win but this is a different format and one which they have been playing well in so they need to get their minds on the job. They are the Champions Trophy winners and with that comes a responsibility to perform.
Pakistan’s batting let them down in the Test series but this is a much changed line up for them with the bat. If they can perform well in this first game then they will set themselves up for a strong series. We know that their bowling attack is good enough regardless of some injuries they might have so their key is the bat.
Sri Lanka
It is hard to assess Sri Lanka heading into this series. Traditionally this is their strongest format but in two series since the Champions Trophy they have found themselves beaten by both Zimbabwe and India in separate series which can not be described as a good thing. The India defeat being as heavy as it was asked more questions than it gave answers.
That said they have picked up the confidence of the win the Test series will have given them and they should have plenty of belief heading into this series. I think this first match is massive for them too. If they can win it, or put up a significant performance then it will set them up to be competitive for the five matches.
Team News
Pakistan are without the injured Azhar Ali and Mohammad Amir for this match. Ahmed Shehzad is the man to come in and open the batting while Wahab Riaz looks likely to get a starting berth with the ball.
Angelo Mathews is out injured for the visitors. Dinesh Chandimal could be the one to take his place. Thisara Perera is expected to play having shone when he played against Pakistan for the World XI last month.
Dubai International Cricket Stadium
This will be the 21st match that has been held at this venue. Pakistan don’t have a great record here it must be said. They only have six wins from their 15 matches. Sri Lanka have a 50:50 record with two wins and the same amount of defeats.
Apart from a Jos Buttler masterclass this is generally a low scoring ground with the wicket very much a friend of the slower bowlers. That may mean we may see the ball on top for once.
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Betting
I can’t bring myself to bet on the match outcome here. I want to see how both sides go first before I do that. Thankfully this is a five match series so we have the opportunity to do that so I will head to a side market for a bet on the game.
That comes in the form of the total runs where I’m not convinced we are going to reach 500. Both these bowling attacks are skilful and in truth neither batting line up completely convince so I am expecting a low scoring match on a ground which is well known for low scoring matches. History and current form suggests we will fail to see more than 505.5 runs in this one.
Tips
WON – Back Under 505.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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