Pakistan vs Sri Lanka: Hosts aim to claim the series with a bang

• Pakistan to play Sri Lanka today in third ODI.
• Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and his team have already won the first ODI.

Pakistan would be eyeing a series victory as they take on visitors Sri Lanka, in the third and final One Day International (ODI) today (Wednesday) at National Stadium, Karachi.

The series comes as a sigh of relief for the Pakistani cricket fans who have waited for years (some 10 years to be exact) for the return of international cricket and what could be a better way to end the series on a winning note after the hosts took a comfortable 1-0 lead, beating Sri Lanka by 67 runs in the second ODI.

The run machine Babar Azam once again proved his mettle as Pakistan batting mainstay and smashed his 11th ODI century. In doing so he also became the first Pakistan player this year to surpass 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Usman Shinwari, who was not part of Pakistan’s World Cup 2019 campaign, made quite a comeback to the squad, grabbing his second five-wickets haul and claiming the Man of the Match award as well.

However, it’s high time for the skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed needs to pile up some runs on the board, the wicketkeeper batsman has not been among the run makers and struggled during the World Cup as well.

Squads:

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed(w/c), Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Wahab Riaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Usman Shinwari, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Asif Ali, Abid Ali, Mohammad Hasnain

Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama(w), Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne(c), Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Isuru Udana, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Pradeep, Angelo Perera, Minod Bhanuka, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan