Sri Lanka’s vice-captain Lahiru Thirimanne is struggling to be fit for today’s second Test against Pakistan here in Dubai. Thirimanne didn’t take the field on the fifth day of the first Test due to back stiffness and although he batted during training on Tuesday he was struggling to field. If he is ruled out, top order batsman Sadeera Samarawickrama is set to make his Test debut.
Rex Clementine Reporting from the UAE
The 22-year-old Samarawickrama has already scored six First Class hundreds for Colts CC and Sri Lanka ‘A’. He has an impressive First Class average of 46. Captain Dinesh Chandimal was hoping that Thirimanne will be fit for the challenge against Pakistan.
“Actually we don’t want to change the team but Lahiru Thirimanne is having some back stiffness. We need to see him today and take a decision before the game starts tomorrow. I am sure he will be fit to play. We just need to look at the conditions. We might have dew later in the day and need to plan for that too. Hopefully there will be not many changes,” Chandimal told journalists.
Sri Lanka squad for Pakistan ODIs announced
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have announced a 15-man squad for the five-match ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE.
A win or a draw here will help Sri Lanka to improve their Test ranking. Currently Sri Lanka are ranked seventh and if the tourists draw this game, they will go past Pakistan as world’s sixth ranked team. A win would be even better as they will cut down the gap between themselves and fourth placed New Zealand and fifth placed Australia to just three points.
“Firstly we never underestimate Pakistan. They are a really good side especially in the last couple of series they have played really good cricket. We just want to go back to our basics. Everyone is working hard in the practice and we are looking forward for a good game. If we can win this series, that will be great,” noted Chandimal.
Pakistan have an outstanding record in the last ten years having not lost a Test series at home. This will be also Sri Lanka’s first pink ball Test. Play gets underway at 3:30 pm local time (5:00pm Sri Lanka time) under lights.
“Actually we are excited because this is our first pink ball Test match. We played the last season with the pink ball in domestic cricket, but not day and night. So this is the first day and night we are playing and it will be a good challenge for us. But I am sure the guys will take this challenge very well and so looking forward to do well.”
“I have played one game in domestic cricket with the pink ball and I feel the first 20 to 25 overs there is a bit seam and swing. I mean more helpful for the fast bowlers and especially when ball gets older there is a lot of reverse swing. Nothing that much for the spinners but I don’t know if it will be here with the conditions as it is very hot here. Traditionally the Dubai wicket is good for spin bowlers.”
Chandimal said that he didn’t fancy a draw to win the series and would play positive and go for a win. “Actually we are looking to win so we are not going to play for draw. So that is our main target. We just need to do the basics right. In Abu Dhabi, the pitch it was a totally different to last two series that we played here. We saw in the last day there were so many cracks and so many open up in the pitch and so it is totally different this time. In Dubai usually it helps spinners. It will be a good challenge for both teams.”
Pakistan’s struggles against left-arm spin is all too well known and Chandimal was confident Sri Lanka will be able to exploit the conditions to their advantage.
“Throughout my career, normally the Pakistan batters, they have struggled against left-arm spinners. That is what I have see in last seven or eight years. We all know that Rangana is a legend and he is an outstanding bowler. He is a world class bowler so I am sure he will be a really good asset for this game as well. So we are keeping our fingers crossed.”
Sri Lanka have never beaten a team ranked above them away from home in a series in the last three years.
