SL starts favorites, as they face Pakistan today

In the tenth edition of the competition being held in Sri Lanka from June 15 to 24, it is back to the four Test teams who will play each other once before the top two qualify for the final. And, while, Bangladesh have proved their incompetence and inconsistency in limited overs cricket does not augur well for them and it is clear that the winner will come from the big three India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

India and the hosts have in fact dominated the Asia Cup winning four times each, while Pakistan triumphed only once in Bangladesh in 2000. Sri Lanka have won the trophy the last two occasions and on current form should start as favourites. That they have won the title on all three occasions when it has been held in the island nation is a most encouraging fact.

Also, SL can take heart from the performance of the team that just won the tri series in Zimbabwe. It was a second string side under the leadership of Tillakaratne Dilshan that went but they beat back from the challenge of Zimbabwe and a depleted Indian squad with a show that sent ripples of joy back home.  Now that the seniors have joined this second string team, it has added a lot of variety and presents a very strong and balanced team than other teams in the tournament.

Test of nerves, Unity and character for Pakistan
Pakistan will be tested with their unity and character throught out this tournament and this team, though looks strong in paper, does not have the batting depth that requires for a 50 over side. Pakistans batting will be revolved only with their main stay of Umar Akmal and Salman Bhat. They need to act as a senior pro and guide this young batting unit through this 50 overs, otherwise this team does not look like batting the full quota of 50 overs. Also, the presence of Shoaib Malik back in the team, might not be taken positively by the team, as Shoaib has been pulled earlier haviing creating ruffles within the team. There will be a lot to prove for Akhtar too, as at the age of 35, he needs to prove his calibre once again. How well Afridi be able to prove his mettle in the 50over format, needs to be seen. He is generally a restless cricketer and it all depends on how well can he mould himself and his team. Given the above, the players will only try to cement their places in the team based on their individual performances at the cost of team effort.
My playing XI would be: Salman Bhat, Kamaran Akmal, Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Asad Sidiq, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzak, Md.Ameer, Shoaib Akhtar and Saeed Ajmal.


SL is a Balanced Team
The openers have been in tremendous form for SL and add that to the presence of Sangakkara and Mahela to its batting ranks. The bowling also looks very balanced with Malinga joining this team.  Allrounders slot also looks very settled in the form of Angelo Mathews and Farveez. Sri Lanka will start favorites to win this encounter.
My playing XI would be: Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Sangakarra, Mahela, Kapugedera, AD Mathews, Maharoof, S Randiv, Fernando, Muralidharan, Malinga