🏏Cricket World Cup 2023: Match #8: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 10 Oct 🏏

🏏Cricket World Cup 2023: Match #8: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on 10 Oct at 2:00 PM IST 🏏

Sri Lanka hope to end World Cup duck against Pakistan

It's 7-0 in Pakistan's favour at the ODI World Cup; though Sri Lanka won the recent crucial fixture between the sides at the Asia Cup

It seems bizarre, given this is a World Cup game, but just three weeks ago Pakistan and Sri Lanka played an ODI that arguably mattered more. They battled it out to the final ball of a knockout match at the Asia Cup, with Sri Lanka stealing the win and booking a berth in the final. Hindsight might cast Tuesday's fixture in Hyderabad to be just as pivotal, but at the moment nothing feels so urgent, so drastic, as everything did in Colombo.

Both sides have played one game in this World Cup, have shaken hands and introduced themselves to this World Cup. Neither has quite made the best first impression, but Pakistan have two points and a win pinned to their lapel, while Sri Lanka remain unadorned at the points table. The mitigating circumstance, of course, is that Pakistan played Netherlands and still looked shaky during certain passages of play, while Sri Lanka took on a South African batting juggernaut, and for a while gave as good as they got in a frenetic, if ultimately unsuccessful, chase.

Sri Lanka are now in Hyderabad which, as Babar Azam said earlier, has already begun to feel a bit like home for Pakistan. They have been here since they arrived in India two weeks ago, and will play one last game in the city before moving to Ahmedabad. They know there were plenty of imperfections in that victory against Netherlands, not least with the openers' loss of form, but fortunately for Pakistan their middle order has suddenly sprung to life. And for all their worries about loss of control with the ball in the middle overs, Haris Rauf showed he was back to his best, finding wickets through that period and blasting batting line-ups wide open.

Sri Lanka might just consider writing off their bowling performance against South Africa and starting over. Few bowling units can control a South African onslaught in full flow, as Australia discovered last month in the a bilateral series. Pakistan do not possess that kind of power, and Hyderabad is less likely to be conducive to the kind of monstrous hitting Sri Lanka couldn't withstand in Delhi.

They will be buoyed by the manner in which they went about the chase, demonstrating their own ability to take on a bowling attack relentlessly across 50 overs. Meanwhile, memories of the control they possessed during a cold, calculated chase against Pakistan in that high-pressure Asia Cup fixture should power their belief they can finally break their World Cup duck (0-7) against Pakistan.

Tag Credit: Sutapasima

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Pitch Report

The pitch in Hyderabad has been batting-friendly so far in the World Cup. The team batting first has scored more than 300 runs in both matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. Even in the warm-up matches, the teams scored big at this venue. Fans should expect another high-scoring match.

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Weather Forecast

The skies will be partly cloudy during the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka match in Hyderabad. The chances of rainfall during the match are close to 0%. Humidity will be close to 60%, whereas the temperature is expected to be 27 degrees Celsius.

Pitch and conditions

Some cloud cover is expected in Hyderabad during the game, but no rain. The pitch should be conducive to big scores; New Zealand scored 322 against the Netherlands in Hyderabad on Monday.

Thanks for the tag, Raji! Bookmarked😬

For as alien as it is for Pakistani players to be playing in India, the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad won't be alien enough when they face Sri Lanka on Tuesday. Over the last two weeks, they have played three games at the venue, even if they haven't come close to producing their potential best performance.

Sri Lanka isn't an opposition they would mind coming up against. Not only have they beaten their Asian counterparts in eight out of the last nine encounters but it's also a team that has never beaten Pakistan in World Cups. Being on the other side of the spectrum against India, Pakistan know a thing or two about the psychological advantage these historical baggages tend to bring.

Pakistan's head coach Grant Bradburn has insisted that the form of the fast bowlers has overshadowed the improved performances of their middle order. He isn't far from the truth. It's the best year that middle order has had since the 2019 World Cup. But also the worst for their top order. While the poor form of the openers has been well highlighted, Babar Azam has managed to score only 61 runs in the last 4 ODIs. A concern for Pakistan, an opportunity for Sri Lanka to pounce on and gain the early advantage.

It's still early days in the tournament and there is some early momentum already, even if largely insignificant. Sri Lanka will be coming into the game after having their bowling attack being taken apart by South Africa in their tournament opener in Delhi. Even as the batters put up a respectable score, it was far from enough to challenge the opposition. The likely return of Maheesh Theekshana would be good news for them, but it would lead to some minor selection dilemma. Do they go in with three frontline pacers or back both Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage?

More importantly, can they flip the momentum, break the winless run and give their world cup campaign a move on? It will be their last game at the now-familiar venue for Pakistan before they head to the hotter climes of Ahmedabad and Chennai. And they would hope to leave the city with lesser concerns than they came with.

Thanks for the tag and the thread. Good luck to both teams. May best team win

Team News:

Pakistan:Despite the win in the opening game, there are ample concerns for the team, especially at the top of the order. Bradburn backed Fakhar Zaman to come good, but it's not certain if he will retain his place in the XI.

Tactics & Strategy: After having made an 'impactful' contribution on his return to the side, Hasan Ali wouldn't mind taking on his favourite opponent, and possibly their most important batter - Kusal Mendis. Hasan has dismissed Mendis thrice in 18 balls in ODIs, conceding only 7 runs.

Likely XI:Fakhar Zaman/Abdullah Shafique, Imam ul Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

Sri Lanka: Maheesh Theekshana will be available for the clash against Pakistan, providing a much-needed boost to their bowling attack after the hammering it received against South Africa

Tactics & Strategy: Sri Lanka would look to take advantage of the vulnerability of Pakistan's top order. Fakhar Zaman has struggled against the full swinging ball lately, one which Logan van Beek also used to good effect in the opening game.

Likely XI: Kusal Perera, Patthum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage/Dilshan Madhushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana

In the spotlight

Fakhar Zaman's poor form has got the most attention, but Imam-ul-Haq's runs appear to have tapered off as well. He has only one score above 16 in his last seven 50-over games including the World Cup warm-ups. While there is no reason to believe he isn't fully fit, Pakistan will need to see him prove it with runs in a top order that has suddenly run dry. In Sri Lanka, he has a bowling unit theoretically ripe for plunder after what South Africa did to them, and an opportunity to go into Pakistan's game against India with World Cup runs under his belt.

Charith Asalanka is one of the best middle-overs batters in the world at the moment. No one has scored more runs batting at No. 5 or lower since his ODI debut, and his 1327 runs have come at an average above 45 and a strike rate above 90. Time and again, he has maintained - or provided - impetus to a Sri Lankan innings through the middle, and broke Pakistan hearts with a nerveless unbeaten 49 to knock them out of the Asia Cup last month. After an indifferent couple of warm-ups, he was back in form against South Africa, top scoring with a 65-ball 79. So his form, combined with the question mark over Pakistan's spinners, will make that passage of play an intriguing and possibly match-defining one.

Stats and trivia

• Imam is nine short of 3000 ODI runs. If he gets them tomorrow, it will have taken him 67 innings. Only Hashim Amla (57) has got there quicker. Fakhar Zaman and Shai Hope also took 67 innings, while Babar Azam needed 68.
• Sri Lanka have never beaten Pakistan at the ODI World Cup, losing all seven completed matches. The sides' clash in 2019 was washed out.

What they said:

"Pakistan is quite a strong opposition. The only advantage that we have is that we have been playing Pakistan recently in the Asia Cup as well, so both teams know quite well about each team's strengths, weaknesses, whatever it may be. I think it's going to be a good tussle" - Naveed Nawaz, Sri Lanka's assistant coach

"We've got full faith in our top order. They will click at some stage. And we're open and honest to say that we're not getting what we would like out of the Powerplay as yet. But we're certainly very happy with other phases of our game which have kicked into gear and did enough the other night to get over the line" - Grant Bradburn, New Zealand head coach

Did you know?

Sri Lanka have never beaten Pakistan in the 50-over World Cup. The two teams have faced off against each other eight times with Pakistan winning seven times and one match getting abandoned.

Pakistan have won eight of the last nine ODIs against Sri Lanka

Since 2022, Sri Lankan spinners have been the most productive among all teams, averaging 26.13. Pakistan spinners, on the other hand, have had the second worst record (39.85)