PESHAWAR
\nThe first Test match of the two-match series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played today (Saturday) at the Galle International Cricket Stadium, Sri Lanka.
\nPakistan team is high in spirit facing strong opponent Sri Lanka who recently defeated a strong team Australia by an innings and 39 runs. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are scheduled to play a two-match Test series. It will be a big challenge for Pakistan to win this Test series, certainly looking after the current form of the Sri Lankan team.
\nSri Lanka also has a huge advantage in its home ground and crowd. On the other hand, Pakistan is most dependent on Shaheen Shah, Babar Azam, Yasir Shah and Mohammad Rizwan. Sri Lanka has a full all-round team which will be a big thing to defeat and in case of victory in the World Test Championship, Pakistan will be ahead of India in the final race. So far 55 Test matches have been played between the two teams out of which Pakistan has won 20 and Sri Lanka 19 matches while 19 matches have ended without any result.
\nThe innings was declared at the National Stadium on February 21, 2009 by scoring 765 runs for the loss of six wickets. In the same Test match, Sri Lanka also declared the innings at 644 runs for the loss of six wickets.
\nA total of 1553 runs were scored in the Test match and only 18 wickets were lost. Pakistan has won ten and Sri Lanka seven series so far. Five series between the two teams ended in a draw. Younis Khan, who scored 313 runs at the National Stadium Karachi on February 21, 2009 with a highest individual score. The best individual innings for Sri Lanka was played by Sant Jayasuriya when he played 253 runs at Faisalabad on October 20, 2004.
\nThe last match between the two teams was played from December 19-23, 2019 at the National Stadium in Karachi in which Pakistan had won by 263 runs. In the last eleven Test matches, Sri Lanka\u2019s weight is heavy. In these eleven matches, Sri Lanka has won six matches while Pakistan has won four matches and one Test. The match was scary.
\nAhead of the team\u2019s World Test Championship Series, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said he was trying to change the way Test cricket is played. It\u2019s not easy for batsmen when the other team dominates you. Pakistan captain Babar Azam has described the lack of his Test team. Pakistan\u2019s slow batting during its last home series against Australia was criticized. The team averaged more than three runs in a single innings in the series.
\nBefore the first Test match, Babar Azam admitted that his team needed to make an adjustment between taking an aggressive stance in Test cricket and playing according to the circumstances. \u201cWe are trying to change the way Test cricket is played,\u201d Babar Azam said ahead of the team\u2019s upcoming series against Sri Lanka in the World Test Championship.
\nIt\u2019s not easy for batsmen when the other team dominates you. \u201cAfter 2015 we are going to Sri Lanka, we have prepared for the wickets there and we know the conditions there,\u201d Babar Azam said. \u201cOur batsmen are in good form.\u201d He has just performed well in practice matches so hopefully he will perform well.
\n\u201cThe Sri Lankan team is made up of young players with only two or three senior players. Every team at home is dangerous and the Sri Lankan team knows how to play in their conditions and we will plan to dismiss the batsmen early because unless we dismiss 20 players, we cannot win the match.
\nAsked about the changing trend of Test cricket and Pakistan\u2019s strategy in batting aggressively, Babar said, \u201cEverything takes time. We have to play according to the situation on the field. That\u2019s the effort.\u201d In order to achieve the goal, we as a team are also focusing on the fact that no matter what the situation, we have to play positive cricket.
\nOn the tour of Sri Lanka, Babar Azam said, \u201cWe want to play positive regardless of the situation, but many times it is about a certain day, when you decide the strategy to win the match.\u201d \u201cYou must remember that the beauty of Test cricket lies in adapting to the situation. You can\u2019t run fast if the opposing team dominates you,\u201d Babar Azam said.
\nThe Pakistan captain is well aware how to challenge Sri Lanka on spinner-friendly pitches, he added. \u201cWe are watching their current Test series against Australia,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can see that there are a lot of spinners, but we have prepared according to their situation and we have good spinners like Yasir Shah, Noman Ali and Nawaz to take advantage of the situation.
\nBabar Azam is confident that the fast bowlers led by Shaheen Shah Afridi will also leave their mark in the series. \u201cI also trust my fast bowlers, they will dominate,\u201d the skipper added. \u201cOur batsmen have the experience to play there and in those conditions, but we will plan to dismiss the batsmen because unless we dismiss 20 players, we cannot win the match.
\nAsked about the changing trend of Test cricket and Pakistan\u2019s strategy in batting aggressively, Babar said, \u201cEverything takes time. We have to play according to the situation on the field. That\u2019s the effort.\u201d In order to achieve the goal, we as a team are also focusing on the fact that no matter what the situation, we have to play positive cricket.
\nOn the tour of Sri Lanka, Babar Azam said, \u201cWe want to play positive regardless of the situation, but many times it is about a certain day, when you decide the strategy to win the match.\u201d You must remember that the beauty of Test cricket lies in adapting to the situation. You can\u2019t run fast if the opposing team dominates you.
\nThe Pakistan captain is well aware that he will be challenged by Sri Lanka on spinner-friendly pitches. \u201cWe are watching their current Test series against Australia,\u201d he said. You can see that there are a lot of spinners, but we have prepared according to their situation and we have good spinners like Yasir Shah, Noman Ali, Nawaz to take advantage of the situation.
\nBabar Azam is confident that the fast bowlers led by Shaheen Shah Afridi will also leave their mark in the series. \u201cI also trust my fast bowlers, they will dominate,\u201d he said. Our batsmen have the experience to play there and they will adapt easily. Sri Lanka is a young team, they know their situation well and they cannot be taken lightly. The second will be played in Colombo on July 24.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR The first Test match of the two-match series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played today (Saturday) at the Galle International Cricket Stadium, Sri Lanka. Pakistan team is high in spirit facing strong opponent Sri Lanka who recently defeated a strong team Australia by an innings and 39 runs. Pakistan and Sri Lanka […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[20,793],"class_list":{"0":"post-271506","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-pakistan","9":"tag-sri-lanka"},"yoast_head":"\n