FATULLAH: The two familiar foes Pakistan and Sri Lanka will meet each other in the opening game of Asia Cup at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah, ARY News reported.
The two teams will raise the curtain of the Asia Cup with their competition. They already play each other plenty, but this is first contest between the two, after the controversial move of Sri Lanka over Big Three proposal at the Singapore meeting.
During the last tour in UAE, Sri Lanka lost the 3-match ODI series to Pakistan by 3-2, but three of those matches featured close finishes. In Bangladesh, the teams appear well-matched again.
Both the team has edge over the other in one department. Pakistan, as ever, have the better bowling side while Sri Lanka have the better batting unit.
But the key to the outcome in Fatullah may be whether either team can leverage close knowledge of each other's cricket.
It will be important to watch that can Pakistan continue to subdue recent-centurion Kumar Sangakkara in the same manner they had done in the UAE tour.
On the other hand for Sri Lanka, the question is whether their bowlers will restrict suddenly-monstrous Pakistan top order they had encountered in the last series.
The tournament is set to be played at a quick pace, and a victory matters a lot to keep the tempo up
