Sri Lanka eye making crisis-ridden country happy by lifting Asia Cup title

Dubai: Come Sunday, Sri Lanka will go out with two objectives of not only winning the Asia Cup title for the sixth time by beating Pakistan, but also making their way back home to cheer about something amidst their nation plunging into socio-economic crisis.

On the flipside, Pakistan will vie for lifting the title for third time at the Dubai International Stadium.

Both sides will walk into the contest knowing their strengths and weaknesses well after they played against each other in an inconsequential Super 4 match on Friday.

Pakistan will be looking to spice up their batting against the potent spin attack Sri Lanka possess which had dismantled the Pakistani in the last game.

Sri Lanka on the other hand will be hoping to call the toss right as they have won all their Super 4 matches bowling first. They would be particularly wary about batting first and facing up to young Pakistani bowlers who have performed exceedingly well in the absence of Shaeen Shah Afridi.

Spinner Wanindu Hasaranga could be a trump card for Sri Lanka as Pakistan's top six batsmen have not exceeded their strike rate above 120 against spinners, and they clearly struggled to accelerate the scoring in Friday's match.

Even part-timer Dhananjaya de Silva had them pushed to the walls, in his four overs he did not give a single boundary in his spell of 1/8.

Sri Lanka will also look to capitalise on Pakistan's lackadaisical momentum in the post-powerplay period, between 7th and 10th over.

For Pakistan, their fortune rests on the performance of bell-weather opening batsman Mohammad Rizwan as Pakistan has been wobbly when he goes off the crease early on. Pakistan could be fortunate if he gets on with his job and gives a rollicking start.

Shadabh Khan, who has come up trumps in a thrilling match against Afghanistan, can be an answer to Sri Lankan spin attack. He has not only done good with the ball, but also with his bat. He averaged 36.75 at a strike rate of 142.71 in Pakistan Premier League.

Probable squads

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka/Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan/Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka (UNI)