Desperate home side need comprehensive win at Karachi: 2nd Pak-SL Test begins today

KARACHI: Wet and cold weather turned last week’s ‘historic’ Test against Sri Lanka in grey and gloomy Rawalpindi into a damp squib.The opening game of the two-match series – Pakistan’s first Test in more than a decade – ended in a tame draw with just 167 overs possible over the course of five days because of rain and bad light.Mercifully, the weather forecast promises to be a lot more dry and sunny over the next five days when Karachi’s iconic National Stadium will host the final Test starting Thursday (today). It’s really important for Pakistan that weather doesn’t play spoilsport as they desperately need to win this Test and claim the series. Languishing at number eight in the Test rankings, the Pakistanis gave their World Test Championship the worst possible of starts in Australia where they were massacred by a rampaging home side in a completely one-sided series. The weather-hit draw in Pindi didn’t help Pakistan’s cause either. Now, they need a win in Karachi and for a variety of reasons.The first one being the World Test Championship and their place in it. Very few contests in this championship are going to be easier for Pakistan than a home series against a shaky side like Sri Lanka. With 2020 assignments like a summer series in England looming, Pakistan need to collect a few points to put their campaign on track. Then, there is Azhar Ali. As a batsman he is walking on thin ice. And the ice only gets thinner when it comes to his role as captain. Once hailed as Pakistan’s biggest batting hope, Azhar has been an utter disaster at least in his last 12 Test innings. He has scored 162 runs at 13.50 from them. As Pakistan’s premier batsman, Azhar needs a big knock. As captain he needs a comprehensive win. So does Misbah-ul-Haq. Just a few months after being installed as one of the most powerful men in Pakistan cricket, Misbah has seen his fortunes slump quite rapidly. From a potential messiah, Misbah is now being seen, by a growing list of critics, as a big burden in his dual role as Pakistan’s head coach and chief selector. A series-winning triumph in Karachi might not completely change that perception but it would certainly give Misbah a much-needed respite. And it’s not just Misbah, who needs such a respite. One could judge from Wednesday’s press conference by Wasim Khan, Pakistan Cricket Board’s desperate-looking CEO, that all’s certainly not well in the state of our cricket.Just like Misbah, Wasim was hand-picked by those in the corridors power with the honest intentions of bringing professionalism in a Board infested with incompetent elements. But such short-cuts seldom work. Wasim tried to portray his eight-month-old stint as a period laden with success and progress. But most of that progress like a home series against South Africa next year or against Australia in 2022 sounded like a case of counting your chicken before they hatch. In contrast, a victory at the National Stadium will be something real and solid. And Pakistan should see themselves asfavourites to achieve such a result. Without taking away anything from Sri Lanka, who have shown signs of being a fighting unit in Pindi, one must say that Pakistan will begin the series-decider with a big edge.Firstly, they are playing at home. In any Test that’s almost always a big advantage. They have a better pace attack. Their batting, too, seems superior with the likes of Babar Azam looking set to dominate in batting-friendly conditions.A big talking point ahead of this series was the recall of previously forgotten Fawad Alam. The middle-order batman, however, was overlooked for the opening Test and remains unlikely to play his first Test in more than ten years in his hometown either.It’s highly unlikely that Misbah will make many changes to the line-up that played in Pindi. But Pakistan will be forced to replace pacer Usman Shinwari, who was hospitalized because of typhoid. Leggie Yasir Shah, who didn’t play in Pindi, is likely to replace him.Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be without Kasun Rajitha, who sustained a left hamstring strain in Pindi. Pacer Asitha Fernando, who was included in the touring party as replacement for the injured Suranga Lakmal, is in line to make his Test debut, should the management decide to continue with a three-man pace attack. Or they might opt to field two spinners, with left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya expected to replace Rajitha in the playing eleven.Teams (likely): Pakistan: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (captain) , Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shaheen AfridiSri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Embuldeniya, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara.

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