Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi and deputy Misbah-ul-Haq termed the Sri Lankan cricket team as a tough side to beat in the ICC World Cup and added that there would be a quite a few challenges to them in their Saturday’s clash against the 1996 champions at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
So far, Sri Lanka have met Pakistan in six World Cup games, but have not won a single encounter. All those six games were during Sri Lanka’s formative stages in the big league with the last encounter being in the 1992 tournament when Aravinda de Silva’s side lost to Imran Khan’s ‘cornered tigers’ in the last over.
Although it’s strange that they haven’t met in the last four World Cups, the reason for that is in 1996 campaign, the teams were in separate groups while in 1999, Sri Lanka were knocked off in the first round. In 2003 and 2007, it was Pakistan’s turn for an early exit.
"The home advantage will be a major factor for Sri Lanka. They are playing as a unit as well and that is the key behind their success," Afridi, who picked up five wickets against Kenya in Pakistan’s opening encounter in Hambantota, told journalists in Suriyawewa on Wednesday (Feb. 23).
"The Sri Lankan team has always been good, but in the last two or three years, especially, they have been very consistent playing good cricket. In home conditions they are a very tough side and they do good planning and have fighting spirit. We’ve played a lot of cricket against them and understand each other’s games well," Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s vice-captain who plays in his first World Cup at the age of 36, said.
Sri Lanka Cricket said that reserved tickets for the game were sold out two months before the game while Rs.50 tickets were finished two hours after they were put out for sale. "I think, subcontinent conditions for Asian teams are equal. They will have home ground advantage but if we play the way we played against Kenya, then it should be a good match. I am very confident as a captain," Afridi said.
The last time Sri Lanka played Pakistan was in June last year in the Asia Cup in Dambulla and the hosts won by 16 runs with Lasith Malinga picking up five wickets.
Malinga was rested for Sri Lanka’s opening game of the World Cup against Canada on Sunday, but he’s expected to play on Saturday.
"I think he is coming back from an injury, so let’s see how strong he is and how much he can adjust to the conditions," Afridi said.
Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has an excellent record against the Pakistanis having taken 95 wickets in 64 games with a best of five for 23 and playing against them possibly for the last time, he will be looking to go on a positive note.
"Due to the conditions of the pitches, he is always very dangerous. He could probably turn it on marble, anyway. He has so much experience and knows how to use them so well," Afridi said.
"We’ve played them so often in recent times and Younis (Khan) plays Murali so well and even some of the younger guys. We play Sri Lanka a lot and we play spinners generally well. There are quite a few guys in Pakistan who bowl with his action so we find it easier to play Murali. No doubt he is a world class spinner but because we are used to him, we can cope with him easily," Misbah added.
