ABOUT THE MATCH
The 1st ODI of the three-match series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played at the Karachi.
Sri Lanka is touring with an inexperienced squad, with several more senior players have expressed their unwillingness to tour Pakistan. Lahiru Thirimanne leads the team, but they are very much outsiders against a strong Pakistan side.
Pakistan has retained Sarfaraz Ahmed as captain after the World Cup, despite their below-par performances in England. They boast a full-strength team and will expect to win in Karachi.
TOSS PREDICTION
There were some big scores for the teams batting first at Karachi during the Pakistan Super League, and the hosts with their top names all selected up the order will be keen to get the first crack at the pitch if that is the case.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS
The last notable games played in Karachi were during the Pakistan Super League in March. On that occasion, the pitches suited the batsmen and there were some big scores as a result.
Scattered thunderstorms in Karachi could cause a delayed start to this game, but the weather is set to clear later in the evening and play should be possible even if the rain hits earlier on.
Top Order Analysis:
Middle Order Analysis:
Top Order and Middle Order Analysis:
Top bowlers Analysis:
MATCH PREVIEW
Pakistan
- Pakistan, led by Sarfaraz Ahmed, have selected a near full-strength squad for this series. Abid Ali is back, after being cut late from the World Cup squad, while Iftikhar Ahmed and Haris Sohail are also among the players recalled.
- Pakistan finished the World Cup with four straight wins, beating South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. Their brilliant turnaround in form came too late, however, as they missed out on a semi-final spot on net run rate paying for their poor start to the tournament.
- Their most recent ODI then was their win against Bangladesh in the final game. Imam-ul-Haq scored a run-a-ball century and Babar Azam hit 96 in a total of 315/9.
- In Bangladesh’s reply, Shaheen Afridi then claimed 6-35 as Pakistan won by 94 runs.
| Top 3 batsman Pakistan | Top 3 Middle Order Pakistan | Top 3 Bowler Pakistan |
| Fakhar Zaman | Asif Ali | Amir |
| Imam-ul-Haq | Haris Sohail | S khan |
| Babar Azam | Imad Wasim | Wahab Riaz |
Sri Lanka
- Among the Sri Lankan players unwilling to tour Pakistan are star names such as Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Perera.
- Lasith Malinga has too, but he would only have played T20i cricket given his recent ODI retirement.
- A total of ten players withdrew in total, with Lahiru Thirimanne named as captain instead.
- Wicket-keeper-batsman Minod Banuka is set for a debut behind the stumps.
- After finishing sixth at the World Cup, Sri Lanka played Bangladesh in an ODI series since winning all three matches, as Lasith Malinga retired from 50-over cricket during that series.
- Their batsmen were in particularly good form, with Avishka Fernando who hit 82 in the seven-wicket win in the second game among the few to have elected to tour Pakistan too.
| Top 3 batsman Sri Lanka | Top 3 Middle Order Sri Lanka | Top 3 Bowler Sri Lanka |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | D Gunathilala | I Udana |
| Avishka Fernando | Dhananjaya de Silva | N Pradeep |
| Lahiru Thirimanne | D Shanaka | Wanindu Hasaranga |
PROBABLE WINNING TEAM:
Pakistan has a much stronger squad than Sri Lanka for this series and they should mark their return to Karachi with a comfortable win.
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