Sri Lanka loses an early wicket

HYDERABAD: Sri Lanka on Tuesday lost an early wicket of Kusal Perera in their match against Pakistan.

Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to bat first in crucial match of the world cup against Pakistan.

The match of the ICC Cricket World Cup is being played at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

Pakistan have brought in Abdullah Shafique to replace out of form Fakhar Zaman. While Sri Lanka have benched Kasun Rajitha and replaced him with Maheesh Theekshana.

Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka said they opted to bat first as they saw some turn in the later part of the game in the last couple of matches. However, he added that his bowlers will need to hit the right areas and variations.

Pakistan Captain Babar Azam expressing the optimism for winning the match said the pitch looks dry and good.

Squads

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf

Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis (vc), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Kumara, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha