Pakistan Aim to Square Series

Hambantota: Pakistan slumped to a defeat in the first of the 2-match series and will be keen to make amends as they take on Sri Lanka in the same venue.

Pakistan's Umar Akmal oozes talent. In the last year, though, he has lost his place in the Test team. But with his hard-hitting and technically-sound batting style, he continues to be a dangerous player in the shorter formats.

Pakistan's three allrounders - Hafeez, Afridi and Shoaib Malik - are more than handy given the conditions in Sri Lanka and with Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal being automatic choices, Pakistan could consider going for a batsman.

Angelo Mathews had a forgettable IPL season with Pune Warriors. But he did bowl regularly in the tournament, his injury concerns taking a back seat. That experience seemed to help as Mathews bowled a mean spell on Friday. One of the most talented allrounders around, Mathews would look to translate his bowling success to his batting.

Teams from

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Chandimal, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thissara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Isuru Udana

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Hammad Azam, Haris Sohail, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Sami, Raza Hasan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Shakeel Ansar(wk), Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Yasir Arafat, Nasir Jamshed, Umar Gul

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan and Sri Lanka have played each other eight times in T20Is, with Pakistan winning five.
• Shoaib Malik is the leading run-scorer in Pakistan-Sri Lanka T20Is with 195 runs.

Match facts
Sunday, June 3, 2012 (day/night)
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)