Pakistan and Sri Lanka lock horns against each other today in the massive Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup. Sri Lanka have been knocked out but Pakistan still have an outside chance to qualify for the semifinals. They are batting first after losing the toss, even as Pakistan have left out Babar Azam from the playing XI. This is a massive call from them as Babar is not only their former captain but also the leading run-scorer in the T20Is.
The reason why Babar Azam is not playing today’s match is the fact that Pakistan cannot afford to slow down at any stage with the bat. Now that they are batting first, the men in green must post a total close to 200 runs to give the bowlers some cushion to win by around 65 runs and qualify for the semifinals.
Pakistan have also surprisingly dropped Saim Ayub from the playing XI. The all-rounder was bowling well but struggled with the bat right through the tournament at the top of the order. Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed have been added in the bowling attack and Khawaja Nafay has been added in the batting order as Pakistan are aiming to go big.
What did captains say at the toss?
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka was very clear that they wanted to bowl first despite losing their last two matches by big margins while chasing. He also stressed that the team wants to do well in this game for the fans who keep loving them irrespective of their performance.
“It is a good pitch and later on there might be dew as well. We got some good players in our lineup and of course, we need to do our basics right. So yeah, we didn’t do the basics well enough to pull out a win in the last two games. But here, we know we need to make it right in all three departments. They (the fans) still always love us regardless of whether we win or lose, so it’s good motivation, I think. Thank you very much for all the fans here. So yeah, we are looking forward to the game,” Shanaka said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha acknowledged that they have the qualification scenario at the back of their minds. “We just need to play a perfect game, bowl well, bat well, and field well, and I think everything will be fine. Yeah, we would have bowled first definitely, but there is no way we can do that while batting.
“So you just need to put up a good total and try to restrict them. It’s a mix, (knowing the calculations) to be very honest. Sometimes it can be tough and sometimes it’s easy. You have the freedom to go and just play shots or you know what you need to do. But yeah, it’s a mixed kind of a thing. We’ll just try to play a perfect game and I think the rest will be fine,” he said.
Playing XIs:
Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Khawaja Nafay, Usman Khan(w), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara(w), Charith Asalanka, Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka(c), Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka
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