Pakistan, though in a commanding position of 2-1 in a five ODIs series, would very much like to win today's 4th ODI at Abu Dhabi against Sri Lanka to capture the series.
Pakistan has already came winning the ODI series against the South Africans recently and seem in high spirits If their batsmen play responsible again at Abu Dhabi during their 4th ODI, their chances seem quite bright. The onus of winning the series would greatly lie on Hafeez, who scored mighty 140 in the 3rd ODI, though was dropped at 26. Sharjeel, Shehzad, Akmal and Afridi too need to play responsibly.
As for bowling, Umer Gul, who returned to Pakistan team after a nine-months absence due to injury, mad his presence felt right away as he claimed the first two and the last wicket of the match and his 3/19 was instrumental in destabilising the Islanders.
Junaid, Ajmal and Afridi are doing just superb - however, it seems that Bilawal Bhatti is a weak link the Pakistan attack, and there may be a case for bringing Anwar Ali in.
Pakistan's Misbah has already broken Kohli's record - If he scores 60 more runs in the next two matches, he will have had a more prolific ODI year than any batsman has managed since 2007, and the best aggregate in a non-World Cup year since 2000.
As for the Lankans, they seem to have learned some valuable lessons in the series. In a brave new ODI world where 300 is the old 250 and the mandatory Powerplay induces caution, they cannot hope to restrict the opposition without taking wickets.
Probable Opposing Teams:
Pakistan squad
1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Sohaib Maqsood, 5 Misbah-ul- Haq (capt), 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Bilawal Bhatti/ Anwar Ali, 9 Umar Gul, 10. Saeed Ajmal, 11. Junaid Khan
Sri Lanka squad
1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Kusal Perera 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5. Angelo Mathews (capt), 6. Dimuth Karunaratne/Ashan Priyanjan/Kithuruwan Vithanage, 7. Thisara Perera 8. Seekkuge Prasanna, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10. Sachithra Senanayake, 11. Lasith Malinga
The match is scheduled for Wednesday, December 25, 2013 at Abu Dhabi at 1500 local (1100 GMT)
Pakistan has already came winning the ODI series against the South Africans recently and seem in high spirits If their batsmen play responsible again at Abu Dhabi during their 4th ODI, their chances seem quite bright. The onus of winning the series would greatly lie on Hafeez, who scored mighty 140 in the 3rd ODI, though was dropped at 26. Sharjeel, Shehzad, Akmal and Afridi too need to play responsibly.
As for bowling, Umer Gul, who returned to Pakistan team after a nine-months absence due to injury, mad his presence felt right away as he claimed the first two and the last wicket of the match and his 3/19 was instrumental in destabilising the Islanders.
Junaid, Ajmal and Afridi are doing just superb - however, it seems that Bilawal Bhatti is a weak link the Pakistan attack, and there may be a case for bringing Anwar Ali in.
Pakistan's Misbah has already broken Kohli's record - If he scores 60 more runs in the next two matches, he will have had a more prolific ODI year than any batsman has managed since 2007, and the best aggregate in a non-World Cup year since 2000.
As for the Lankans, they seem to have learned some valuable lessons in the series. In a brave new ODI world where 300 is the old 250 and the mandatory Powerplay induces caution, they cannot hope to restrict the opposition without taking wickets.
Probable Opposing Teams:
Pakistan squad
1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Sohaib Maqsood, 5 Misbah-ul- Haq (capt), 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Bilawal Bhatti/ Anwar Ali, 9 Umar Gul, 10. Saeed Ajmal, 11. Junaid Khan
Sri Lanka squad
1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Kusal Perera 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5. Angelo Mathews (capt), 6. Dimuth Karunaratne/Ashan Priyanjan/Kithuruwan Vithanage, 7. Thisara Perera 8. Seekkuge Prasanna, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10. Sachithra Senanayake, 11. Lasith Malinga
The match is scheduled for Wednesday, December 25, 2013 at Abu Dhabi at 1500 local (1100 GMT)
If you are one of the fans located at different destination and miss the chance to visit the stadium to watch your favourite team, You can now watch the match live on your laptop or desktop computer, FREE, provided you have an internet connection, from the links given below: