Who will win Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 1st ODI?
The first leg of Sri Lanka’s limited overs tour of Pakistan will see them start their ODI series at the National Stadium, Karachi. The first match of the series will take place on September 27, with the live action scheduled to start at 15:00 local time.
Sri Lanka are touring with an inexperienced squad, with several more senior players having expressed their unwillingness to tour Pakistan. Lahiru Thirimanne leads the team, but they are very much outsiders against a strong Pakistan side.
Pakistan have retained Sarfaraz Ahmed as captain after the World Cup, despite their below-par performances in England. They boast a full-strength team and will expect to win in Karachi.
PAK vs SL, 1st ODI: Where to watch/Live streaming
TV channels: Star Sports, Willow TV, SportsMax TV, CNC 3, Play Go OTT App, NCN, TVJ, HTS, ZIZ-TV Channel 5, Cayman 27, Digicel Play, GBN, Dazn, Sky Sports, Fox Sports, OSN Sports Cricket, Econet
Live streaming: CPLT20 Official Twitter Account, Hotstar, Foxtel Sports, Willow TV Online
PAK vs SL Toss Prediction
There were some big scores for the teams batting first at Karachi during the Pakistan Super League, and the hosts – with their top names all selected up the order – will be keen to get first crack at the pitch if that is the case.
PAK vs SL Weather Report
Scattered thunderstorms in Karachi could cause a delayed start to this game, but the weather is set to clear later in the evening and play should be possible even if the rain hits earlier on.
PAK vs SL Pitch Condition
The last notable games played in Karachi were during the Pakistan Super League in March. On that occasion, the pitches suited the batsmen and there were some big scores as a result.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds and match prediction for Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 1st ODI...
Pakistan Team News & Playing 11
PAK Team News
Pakistan, led by Sarfaraz Ahmed, have selected a near full-strength squad for this series. Abid Ali is back, after being cut late from the World Cup squad, while Iftikhar Ahmed and Haris Sohail are also among the players recalled.
PAK Key Players
Mohammad Amir: Back to his best for Pakistan, as he showed at the World Cup when he led their wicket-taking charts with 17 from the eight matches he played.
Babar Azam: The big-hitting batsmen still averages more than 50 in ODI cricket, having now reached 70 innings in the format. He scored 474 runs in eight games at the World Cup and continued that form when, most recently, he was a key player for Somerset in the T20 Blast.
Imam-ul-Haq: Signed off from the World Cup with a century against Bangladesh, which improved his ODI average to 54.58 from 36 innings. His only innings since was scoring 152 for Balochistan in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
PAK Team Form
Pakistan finished the World Cup with four straight wins, beating South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Their brilliant turnaround in form came too late, however, as they missed out on a semi-final spot on net run rate – paying for their poor start to the tournament.
Their most recent ODI then, was their win against Bangladesh in the final game. Imam-ul-Haq scored a run-a-ball century and Babar Azam hit 96 in a total of 315/9. In Bangladesh’s reply, Shaheen Afridi then claimed 6-35 as Pakistan won by 94 runs.
Pakistan Predicted Playing 11
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c, wk), Wahab Riaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Usman Shinwari
Sri Lanka Team News & Playing 11
SL Team News
Among the Sri Lankan players unwilling to tour Pakistan are star names such as Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Perera. Lasith Malinga has too, but he would only have played T20i cricket given his recent ODI retirement. A total of ten players withdrew in total, with Lahiru Thirimanne named as captain instead. Wicket-keeper-batsman Minod Banuka is set for a debut behind the stumps.
SL Key Players
Avishka Fernando: The 21-year-old opening batsman hit a century in the World Cup win against West Indies and scored 82 in the second ODI of their recent series with Bangladesh. He has 443 runs in 13 ODI innings so far.
Isuru Udana: Inconsistent for Sri Lanka, which has cost him more regular appearances, but his List A record of 141 wickets in 110 innings – with an economy rate of les than a run a ball – shows what he is capable of.
Lahiru Thirimanne: Handed the chance to captain Sri Lanka again, he does so having scored 21 half-centuries and four hundreds in his 104 ODI innings to date. He averages 35.08 in the format.
SL Team Form
After finishing sixth at the World Cup, Sri Lanka played Bangladesh in an ODI series since – winning all three matches, as Lasith Malinga retired from 50-over cricket during that series. Their batsmen were in particularly good form, with Avishka Fernando – who hit 82 in the seven-wicket win in the second game – among the few to have elected to tour Pakistan too.
Sri Lanka Predicted Playing 11
Avishka Fernando, Danushka Gunathilaka, Angelo Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne (c), Dasun Shanaka, Shehan Jayasuriya, Minod Banuka (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Head to Head
Pakistan and Sri Lanka did not meet at the World Cup – their scheduled group-stage fixture one of the matches to fall foul of the bad weather that hit the early part of the tournament. These will be their first meetings since 2017 in the UAE as a result, with Pakistan having won 90 of their 153 previous matches in total. Sri Lanka, by contrast, have 58 wins in this fixture.
PAK vs SL Head to Head Stats
| Matches Played |
PAK Won |
SL Won |
Tie |
No Result |
| 153 |
90 |
58 |
1 |
4 |
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Betting Odds
Pakistan have the stronger team for this series and are big, big favourites with the bookmakers as a result.
PAK Bet365 Odds
- PAK to Win the Match: Pakistan are 1.25 favourites to beat Sri Lanka with Bet365.
- PAK Top Batsman: Babar Azam was in good form at the World Cup and has continued that since too. He is 3.50 to be Pakistan’s top batsman. Imam-ul-Haq finished that tournament well, meanwhile, and he is 3.75 as a result. Also boasting a strong ODI record – despite falling short too often at the World Cup – is Fakhar Zaman. He is 4.50 to be Pakistan’s top batsman with Bet365.
- PAK Top Bowler: Pakistan have a full-strength bowling attack on show too, and that means Mohammad Amir is 4.00 joint-favourite to be their top bowler with Bet365, as he looks to continue the wicket-taking form he showed at the World Cup. Shadab Khan is the other joint-favourite, with his leg-spin the other arm to Pakistan’s bowling weaponry. Usman Shinwari can be backed at 4.50, while both Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Hasnain are 5.00.
SL Bet365 Odds
- SL to Win the Match: Sri Lanka are huge outsiders at 4.00 to beat Pakistan with Bet365.
- SL Top Batsman: Avishka Fernando is one of the few Sri Lankan batting regulars in the squad for this tour. He is 5.00 to be their top batsman with Bet365. Lahiru Thirimanne, meanwhile, is 4.00 favourite with Bet365, having taken over as Sri Lankan captain. Dimuth Gunathilaka is 8.00 and Dasun Shanaka is the same price among the other Sri Lankans in the squad.
- SL Top Bowler: Isuru Udana looks set to lead the bowling attack and he is 4.00 favourite to be Sri Lanka’s top bowler as a result. Nuwan Pradeep is another of the few regulars to have opted to tour and he can be backed at 4.50 with Bet365, as can Lahiru Kumara.
🏆 Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Prediction
Pakistan have a much stronger squad than Sri Lanka for this series and they should mark their return to Karachi with a comfortable win.
Sep 27, 2019
15:30 IST / 10:00 GMT
National Stadium - Karachi, Pakistan
PAK vs SL ODI 
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