Pakistani will occupy the Premadasa pitch for the second time in this Cup on March 3rd when they play against Canada. After convincingly crushing Kenya in their Cup opener, they overcame some shoddy fielding and last minute stutters en route to a victory over the Lankans.
Canada on the other hand were further humiliated by the Zimbabweans after Sri Lanka brushed them aside in the first game.The only positive for the minnows has been their good fielding and disciplined bowling. But when pitted against the big guns, they have been far from pulling out any surprises.
The teams
The Canada tie is an ideal opportunity for Pakistan to rest some of their players, especially batting stalwart Misbah-ul-Haq who developed a hamstring niggle in the last game. This might also be the perfect window to give some of their under-utilised talents like Abdul Razzaq quality playing time.
Skipper Shahid Afridi's form with the ball has been the highlight of the side. Leading from the front he has produced impressive figures of 5-16 and 4-34 in the two games while Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan have walked away with the batting honours so far.
Their bowling line-up may look depleted on paper, with Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif missing from the action. But pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul have held their own. The only puzzling factor has been the non-inclusion of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal. Perhaps Abdur Rehman's untimely leg injury will be his gain.
For the Canadians, captain Ashish Bagai is one of the main batting hopes for his side. He also has tournament geriatric John Davison up his sleeve, along with big-hitting Rizwan Cheema, a player whose impossible ODI strike rate of 119.4 exceeds even the Pakistan skipper's own maniacal batting rate.
On the bowling front, Balaji Rao and Baidwan have been doing a decent job for the Canadians with Chohan coming good in the last game against Zimbabwe. But it goes without saying that the bowlers will have to bowl out of their skin to contain the explosive Pakistani batting line-up.
The pitch
Going by the first two games played at the Premadasa Stadium, the pitch has something to offer for the batsmen and bowlers. So if both the teams play to their potential, it should make for an interesting game of cricket.
Players to watchzzz
Shahid Afridi is the man in form for Pakistan and he will be keen to set the account straight with his bat as well. Bagai and Davison hold the key for the Canadians if they are to make a match out of this one.
Who wins?
It would take a fair amount of fantasy to expect a major upset when these two ill-matched sides come face to face at the Premadasa. Pakistan should win this by a margin.
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