Pakistan’s record at the R. Premadasa Stadium will give the visitors an edge in the crucial third ODI against Sri Lanka tomorrow, captain Misbah-ul-Haq said.
“Our record is good at the R. Premadasa Stadium. If you remember, during the World Cup, we not only beat Australia, but Sri Lanka as well. Before that when we were here in 2009, we won a few games,” Misbah added.
Pakistan enjoys an extraordinary record at the venue with a 64 per cent win ratio, the best by an overseas team and second only to Sri Lanka’s 65 per cent.
Misbah attributed this success to the conditions at the venue which, according to him, almost always offer very little seam movement and are ideal for batsmen and spinners.
The visitors, however, will not leave anything to chance and Misbah believes his side needs to make major improvements in their fielding and bowling departments. Pakistan won the first ODI, a rained-interrupted encounter by six wickets before losing the second match by 76 runs.
“On Saturday, we missed about three run outs as we couldn’t get a direct hit. Fielding is a very important factor when you are playing against top sides. We were a bit ordinary with the way we fielded and bowled.”
Pakistan may once again be without the services of express fast-bowler Mohammad Sami which may mean more headaches for Misbah and coach Dav Whatmore.
It will be interesting to see what team combination they go in with in the third game, with the batting line up looking a little lean as well.
However, they will be buoyed by the fact that Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who has had a good run against Pakistan of late, has been ruled out of the series due to a knee injury.
“Bowling was no problem but he was struggling a little bit while fielding,” said captain Mahela Jayawardene.
“After speaking to the selectors and the medical guys we felt that it’s best that he gets some rest before the test series because playing three tests is going to be a long series for him.”
Herath will be replaced by another left-arm spinner, Sajeewa Weerakoon, who will make his ODI debut at the age of 34.
“Sajeewa’s been around for quite some time in our domestic cricket and he’s got a lot of experience,” said Jayawardene.
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