The test will be Pakistani spin: Sami Chaudhry’s column, Now that Pakistan and Sri Lanka will face each other in Hyderabad tomorrow, the confidence gained from the recent victory clearly tilts the odds in favor of Pakistan.
Another reason for Pakistan being the favorite is that the Sri Lankan team will be under pressure at the moment after being beaten by South Africa.
When the Asia Cup started, many expected that for the first time in the 40-year history of the tournament, a Pakistan-India final might be seen, but these two teams were equipped with the best bowling and batting. But expectations fell flat and Shanka’s team reached the final.
In the Super Four, when the match against Sri Lanka was like a semi-final, Pakistan was not the favorite until then because it was handicapped by its first choice of batting and bowling. But despite this, the game went on till the last ball and Pakistan fought hard.
The victory against the Netherlands in the World Cup was not exactly what Pakistan expected, but it was definitely the first step towards regaining confidence after missing the taste of victory for three weeks and there were many positives in this victory.
The way the middle order handled the innings after the top order failure was encouraging and although getting all out against the Dutch bowling certainly did not bode well, it was an improvement as all the batsmen in the Pakistan XI got the match. The practice became available.
And while Pakistan’s spinners were troubled by questions about their existence from the futile Asia Cup campaign, not only did Shadab return to form against the Dutch batting, but Mohammad Nawaz also kept a grip on the match with nippy bowling.
Now that Pakistan and Sri Lanka will face each other in Hyderabad tomorrow, the confidence gained from the recent victory clearly tilts the odds in favor of Pakistan. Another reason for Pakistan being the favorite is that the Sri Lankan team will be under pressure at the moment after being beaten by South Africa.
Every team wants to start the World Cup with the confidence of winning but Sri Lanka did not get that confidence. And although Sri Lanka is nowhere to be seen among the various predictions of the four semi-finalists, it must be remembered that in Asian conditions, if the Sri Lankan spinners manage to work their magic, the possibilities do not take long to reverse.
Even in Hyderabad’s conditions, Delhi’s 3-run rainfall will not be seen. The spin pile is likely to be heavy here and if the Sri Lankan think tank picks a better XI unlike the first match, it is expected that Lahiru Kumara and Mahesh Tekshana will be part of the team.
So, even in the match against the Netherlands, if Pakistan’s top order suffers from difficulties against the Dutch spin, then the surprise factor of Dinith Velalge and the kind of experience that Mahesh Tekshana also has, Pakistan will need to step up. If the Sri Lankan spinners are able to crack the Pakistani batting, the problem may increase for Babar Azam.
On the other hand, the Sri Lankan batting will look aggressive here as usual. In such a situation, although there is no question mark on the Pakistani pace attack, Hasan Ali’s nippy medium pace can prove to be a trick for the aggressive batsmen on these slow wickets.
The positive side for Pakistan is the pressure that the Sri Lankan team is trying to get out of after the loss of the Asia Cup final and the humiliating defeat in the first match, Pakistan has already come out of that pressure by winning their first match.
But the other angle is that even in this defeat, the Sri Lankan batting confused the South African bowling. So, even if the Pakistani pace attack does its part, the real test will once again be the Pakistani spinners, as the Sri Lankan batsmen will prove to be much better at dealing with spin than the Dutch batting and spin has been the highlight of Pakistan’s recent woes is swimming
