DUBAI // Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka captain, has hinted he might consider batting first in the final two one-day internationals as they head to Abu Dhabi, down 2-1 in the five-match series.
Pakistan have batted first all three matches so far, putting up scores of 322 for five, 284 for four and 326 for five, and while the Lankans came close in the first game at Sharjah and overhauled 285 in Dubai, they lost by 113 runs in Sharjah on Sunday night.
Given the depth in their batting, with even No 11 Lasith Malinga boasting an ODI half-century, Mathews considers chasing to be their strength and has asked Pakistan to bat first in the past two matches.
The Pakistanis have been relishing that as their record in chasing targets has been far from impressive this year. They have 10 victories in the 18 matches in 2013 when they have batted first, but have won only five of their 14 matches batting second.
Mathews said Sunday’s failure to chase “doesn’t mean we will not bat second”.
He added: “You have to assess the conditions and the wickets first, and then decide on the combination and what we will do first. We need to play to our strengths, but we will rethink about our strategies and go forward.
“We’ve got nothing to lose. We just need to go out and express ourselves, be positive, be confident and try and win. We need to stay positive to win against Pakistan because we all know that they have got good batters and also bowlers. They have a pretty balanced team.
“So we will need to play a lot of positive cricket, try to take them on and try to win the game.”
On the other hand, the Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq is confident his batsmen will not let the team down should they be asked to chase a target. Batting first remains his first preference, but with the likes of Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammed Hafeez, Sharjeel Khan and Sohaib Maqsood in good nick at the top of the order, Misbah believes chasing will not be a problem.
“It’s all about confidence,” Misbah said. “The way this team is playing, all the batsmen are in form and all of them have been scoring runs, and big runs. So the confidence is high and even if you are chasing, you remain optimistic and know how to build your innings, how to pace the chase.
“So hopefully, we will be able to bat the same way in a chase and keep performing like this.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
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TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Griselda
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Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
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Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
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Three stars
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
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In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
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Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
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Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
VERSTAPPEN'S FIRSTS
Youngest F1 driver (17 years 3 days Japan 2014)
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Youngest driver to set an F1 fastest lap (19 years 44 days – Brazil 2016)
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Youngest F1 driver to win the same race (Mexico 2017/18)
