Stage set for Afridi-Malinga clash

Dubai: There will be an interesting clash between two of the most colourful characters in one-day cricket today.

Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka's fearsome pacer, and Pakistan's Boom Boom Shahid Afridi, are set to ignite the start of the five-match series between the two teams at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

If Sri Lankan skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan too rises to the challenge with his favourite "Dilscoop", then the battle between two of the giants of Asian cricket will be a perfect treat for their fans.

Sri Lanka, riding on the fame of being a finalist in the 2011 World Cup, and with a brilliant track record in the one-day format, takes on Pakistan, which are capable of beating any team on a good day. Moreover, for Pakistan, the Dubai International Cricket stadium is a venue which has become their favourite ground. It was their victory here in the second Test match that helped them win the Test series against Sri Lanka. They have also beaten Australia and South Africa on this ground.

The phrase that "if it is Friday, it has to be Pakistan", will once again reverberate from the stands.

Spotlight

The spotlight is trained on Malinga and the return of Afridi that Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq commented: "If they have Malinga we have Afridi and a balanced bowling attack. We are not depending on one bowler."

Tony Hemming, the head curator of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Global Cricket Academy has made a fresh one-day wicket, deciding not to use the pitch on which the Test match was held.

Sri Lanka will go all out to avenge their Test series defeat. Their spirited performance in the Sharjah Test match has given them that confidence. Coach Geoff Marsh has identified batting as the main weakness of his team.

Marsh and Marvan Atapattu, the team's batting coach, were seen correcting the chinks in their batsmen.

The return of Malinga and Dilhara Fernando will strengthen their bowling, but their batsmen need to post enough runs for these two fine bowlers to attack.

Pakistan have a balanced team on paper. When it comes to batting, they have a few batsmen who are capable of smashing any bowling attack in the world, while their bowling department is equally strong. Fielding has been their biggest drawback, especially having recalled some of the senior players who are into their 30s.

Sri Lanka, though handicapped by the absence of their star bowlers who have retired, is now made up of young and agile players.

Vital role

In one-day cricket, when two balanced teams clash for glory, it is the fielding that will play a vital role.

The team that is able to convert those half-chances into catches will have the upper hand in the series.

Pakistan coach Mohsin Khan was seen in a long discussion with Ijaz Ahmad, who has been working hard on sharpening the fielding skills of their players. "Though we have a good team, what is important is how we perform in the middle. We need to play at our best to beat Sri Lanka," said Khan.

Star players from both teams will once again sparkle under the Dubai International Cricket Stadium's ‘Ring of Fire' lighting system.