Sri Lanka v Pakistan Test Series....Testing Times



Starts July 4th, Galle, 04.30 GMT

July the 4th, America's day of independence sees Pakistan finally liberated, in cricketing terms; to play their first Test Match since the terrorist atrocities bought a savage, premature end to their home series against Sri Lanka in Lahore in early March.

World Twenty20 Champions Pakistan

These two sides met in the recent final of the World Twenty20 tournament, with Pakistan prevailing to lift the trophy. This test series however will prove to be a much more testing challenge.

The shortest format of the game was ideal for Pakistan to get the cobwebs off after a very baron period of competitive cricket. After an understandably slow start, they progressively got better and peaked at the perfect time to lift the trophy.

Whilst that win will have lifted the spirits of the team and their country, I think it would be a mistake to put too much emphasis on it as this Test Series in the longest format of the game will be a different matter.

There are few harder challenges in Test Cricket then playing Sri Lanka on their home patch. It was always difficult at the best of times for most teams, but since the emergence of Ajuntha Mendis to partner Murali and Malinga, the task has got even harder.

Sri Lanka v Pakistan Test Match Dates
Date and Time	Match
Sat Jul 4 - Wed Jul 8 10:00 local | 04:30 GMT	1st Test - Galle International Stadium
Sun Jul 12 - Thu Jul 16 10:00 local | 04:30 GMT	2nd Test - P Sara Oval, Colombo
Mon Jul 20 - Fri Jul 24 10:00 local | 04:30 GMT	3rd Test - Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo

Having said that, Pakistan have been one of the few teams that have had relatively little trouble playing the Sri Lankan spin twins. In ODI’s,  Twenty20 and even in that earlier curtailed Test Series, the Pakistan batsmen appear to have had the measure of Mendis and Murali. However, those Tests were on batting paradises in Lahore and Karachi. This series will be a different matter as it’s on the beloved home pitches of Sri Lanka.

On these home pitches, Sri lanka have an impressive and dominant recent record. In the last three years they have beaten South Africa, England and India and in the process they lost only the one test, that against India. This demonstrates the size of the task that faces Pakistan. The challenge would have been great even if Pakistan had been playing cricket consistently, but considering their dearth of top level cricket in last two years, the challenge is even greater.

There is a new look to both Squads. Sri Lanka no longer have the services in

New Sri Lankan Captain Kumar Sangakkara

this format of past big names Jayasarua or Vaas. The captaincy has also changed hands with Sangakarra taking over from Jayawardne. The balance of the side remains formidable with newcomer Warnapura a promising replacement for Jayasarua at the top of the order. Vaas will be missed in the bowling department, however in Thushara they have found a similar player with both the ball and the bat. But as ever, the main threat to Pakistan will come from the spin twins  Murali and Mendis. Individually they are a handful, but bowling in tandem makes them an even harder proposition to face, especially on home pitches they literally know like the back of their hands!

Pakistan also have a new look. They too have a new captain with Younis Khan having taken over from Malik. They will be boosted by the return of Yousef and he along with Khan, Misbah and Malik represent a very strong middle order. Pakistan’s main problem though will once again be the opening partnership. They have not had a settled pair at the top of the order for a while now and there does not appear to be any obvious solutions in this squad. On the bowling front they have Gul and Kaneria, but the back up seamers and spinners lack the penetration that is needed to unsettle a formidable Sri Lankan batting line up.

Ok so what’s the bets?

I believe, on home soil, Sri Lanka will prove to be too strong in all facets of the game and I expect them to win the series comfortably. If Pakistan’s strong middle order fires then I can see them scraping a draw in one of the tests, but I feel a win is unlikely. The 2.5 on offer at Betfred for Sri Lanka to win the series represents exceptional value and I will be jumping at it like a frog on heat!

Pakistan in Sri Lanka Test Series Results

Pakistan in Sri Lanka Test Series	1985/86		Drawn	1-1
Pakistan in Sri Lanka Test Series	1994		Pakistan	2-0
Pakistan in Sri Lanka Test Series	1996/97		Drawn	0-0
Pakistan in Sri Lanka Test Series	2000		Pakistan	2-0
Pakistan in Sri Lanka Test Series	2005/06		Pakistan	1-0

I feel there is also value to be had in the series correct score market and therefore my suggested bets for this series are:

Series Outright Market:
BACK Sri Lanka for 5 points @ 2.63 at Betfred

Series Correct Score Market:
BACK Sri Lanka to win 2-0 for 2 points @ 5.0 at Ladbrokes
BACK Sri Lanka to win 3-0 for 1 point @ 8.5 at Bet365

Join me as I believe these will indeed be testing times for Pakistan.

Big joe