After pulling off a stunning chase in the first one-day international, Pakistan will be high on confidence when they head to Hambantota to take on Sri Lanka in the 2nd ODI.
Where to Watch Live
The second ODI match is set for a 2.30 pm local time (2.20 pm IST, 2 pm PST) start with live TV coverage on Ten Cricket and Ten HD in India and Ten Sports in Pakistan. Watch the match via live streaming HERE. Audience in Sri Lanka can watch the match on CSN or online via live stream HERE. Viewers in the US can watch the game live on Willow TV while the match can also be live streamed HERE. Watch the match on TV in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa on SuperSport and live online HERE.
Chasing 276 for victory, Pakistan looked dead and buried when their skipper Misbah-ul-Haq became the fifth victim with the score reading a mere 106, only for Fawad Alam and Sohaib Maqsood to put on a brilliant partnership to pull off a minor miracle.
The duo put on 147 runs together for the sixth wicket in just 117 deliveries to take Pakistan to the brink, before Shahid Afridi finished the match off in style in the final over.
Now, Pakistan will look to take the momentum from the momentous victory into the 2nd ODI on Tuesday, after the match was brought forward by a day and shifted to Hambantota, where Sri Lanka do not have the greatest of records, due to incessant rain in Colombo.
"This decision was taken on a request from the national curator, where he had confirmed that the ground will not be fit to play the second ODI in Colombo on the 27th of August," Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement. "Three days of sunshine would be needed to bring back the ground to normal condition."
Both teams will hope rain suddenly does not decide to blow over to Hambantota, even if the MET Department has predicted plenty of sunshine over the next couple of days.
Getting in as many ODIs as possible before the start of the World Cup is vital, and both teams would have learned plenty about their team after the 1st one-dayer.
Sri Lanka will know there is no point in panicking after they threw away a big advantage, and, instead, Angelo Mathews and co. will look at the positives, with the skipper himself scoring a nicely-crafted 89 to propel his team to 275.
Mahela Jayawardene, who would have had plenty of emotions still coursing through his body after that send-off in Test cricket, also made a decent 63, and the home side will be hoping for more of the same in terms of batting, with Ashan Priyanjan providing a brilliant final assault.
Bowling is one of Sri Lanka's strengths, and the manner in which Pakistan picked up a victory from the jaws of defeat should not concern the home team too much, with the bowlers, no doubt, keen to show the collapse was just a minor aberration.
For Pakistan, there are a few things to ponder as well, with ace spinner Saeed Ajmal set to miss out again, while experienced batsman Younis Khan will not be available for the remaining two ODIs after flying home following the death of his nephew.
Expected lineups: Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Ashan Priyanjan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga.
Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammed Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Fawad Alam, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan.
