By BV Swagath
The action of the Mobilink Jazz Cup shifts to the good old R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo which will play host to the third ODI between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The Series is interestingly poised at 1-1 and tomorrow’s Third ODI will be the CRUCIAL Match! The winner of tomorrow’s match will definitely have an upper hand in winning the 5-match Series.
The first ODI saw the Pakistani bowlers set up an easy win. In the second ODI, Dilshan and Perera fired at their best to help Sri Lanka level the series 1-1. Those two matches were played at Pallekele where the weather did look threatening but luckily both the contests had results end of the day.
The weather for tomorrow’s SL Vs Pak, 3rd ODI suggests that we could witness scattered Thunderstorms! The chances of rain are 60% according to the MET sites. We will have to cross our fingers and hope that there will be enough time on hand to have a proper cricket match between the two Asian countries.
The venue for tomorrow’s match – R Premadasa Stadium will also host the 4th and 5th ODIs. All the three remaining One Dayers will be day-night affairs with the matches scheduled to start at 14:30 local/14:30 IST/09:00 GMT.
As far as the teams are concerned, Pakistan will be hoping to bring back Mohammad Sami in the place of rookie Rahat Ali. Younis Khan hasn’t looked good but could be given one more chance. Two batsmen Asad Shafiq and Imran Farhat are waiting to grab his spot in the XI. Sri Lanka is likely to retain its winning combination.
Squads for Sri Lanka Vs Pakistan, 3rd ODI at Colombo:
Sri Lanka Squad: Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (Wicket Keeper), Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Upul Tharanga, Nuwan Pradeep and Dilhara Fernando
Pakistan Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Umar Akmal, Sarfaraz Ahmed (Wicket Keeper), Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Rahat Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Sami, Asad Shafiq, Aizaz Cheema, Azhar Ali, Imran Farhat and Sohail Tanvir
