End of over 1 (6 runs) Sri Lanka 6/0 (RR: 6.00)
LD Chandimal5 (5b 1x4 0x6)
TM Dilshan0 (1b 0x4 0x6)
Mohammad Amir1-0-5-0
0.6
Mohammad Amir to Chandimal, FOUR, juicy half-volley and put away without much fuss. Plants his front foot forward and crashes that into the gap between cover and mid-off
0.5
Mohammad Amir to Dilshan, 1 leg bye, full and swinging back into middle and leg, strikes Dilshan on the pad as he looks to flick it past square leg, they pinch a leg-bye
0.4
Mohammad Amir to Chandimal, 1 run, struck on the pad but the ball was angling down leg. Once again, it nipped back in sharply from middle and leg
0.3
Mohammad Amir to Chandimal, no run, how did that miss the off stump, I don't know. Back of length delivery, lands just a touch outside off and holds its line, good leave in the end by Chandimal
0.2
Mohammad Amir to Chandimal, no run, gets a thick inside edge to the inswinger
0.1
Mohammad Amir to Chandimal, no run, gets it to bend back in sharply, Chandimal prods forward half-heartedly and is struck on the pad. Amir goes up in an appeal, but umpire Anil Chaudhary indicates the ball hit him high. Cracking start. Hawkeye confirms it would have missed the stumps
Right, we're set. Dilshan and Chandimal are out in the middle. Amir with the new ball
Muneeb Abbas: "Don't understand a point in playing Iftikhar Ahmed when you have dropped him from T20 World Cup squad. There's Khalid Latif, who has been picked there, but warming the bench here.Why not give him some match practice? Pathetic Management."
Praveen: "A dead rubber and SL making no changes to test bench strength ahead of T20 WC. Very disappointing."
Tharindu: "@Praveen - SL are in no position to test their bench strength as the strongest XI couldn't muster a win against India or Bangladesh. They must win this game to gain their confidence back as losing to Pakistan would be a major blow considering how bad Pakistan itself in this tournament. "
Dinesh Chandimal is walking out to toss for Sri Lanka. Mathews is resting a niggle. Afridi calls right, Pakistan will bowl first. "There could be a bit of dew," he says. "We can't change the past, a win here will be important before going home first, and then the World T20. Khurram, Sami and Anwar Ali have been left out. Mohammad Nawaz, Wahab Riaz and Iftikhar Ahmed are in.
Chandimal says Mathews has a calf strain. Niroshan Dickwella comes in
Pitch report: Lots of grass clippings on the surface. It's dry, and the spinners will have a say as the game progresses. Bat first pitch, then?
Shamveel: "Pakistan is going through a tough phase, but it isn't restricted to cricket alone. Right now, the team, I feel it can bounce back with some good all-round performances. We saw in the match against India that the fielding was good, bowling is as good as it can get. I think changes in batting order should work. Afridi should open with Sharjeel and Anwar should come in at number 4 or 5. Let see what happen now. Good Luck team Pakistan."
As we wait for the toss, here's Andrew Fernando with the match preview.
6:45pm It's a dead rubber as far as the tournament is concerned, but both Sri Lanka and Pakistan will treat this with utmost seriousness looking ahead to the World T20. They have three games - this and two warm-ups - to narrow down on their ideal XIs, so there's plenty to play for.
Shahid Afridi is under immense pressure after Pakistan's loss to Bangladesh the other night, but that isn't the team's only area of worry. Certain reports suggest Ahmed Shehzad is likely to earn a World T20 call-up, which means Khurram Manzoor could get the axe. Remains to be seen if he will be persisted with today, though.
Things are only slightly better in the Sri Lankan camp. Angelo Mathews has tried to bring the group together in the absence of their designated captain Lasith Malinga. Tillakaratne Dilshan's form is a major worry at the top. How a young batting line-up adjusts against the pace of Mohammad Amir and bounce of Mohammad Irfan will form the crux of the contest tonight.
