COLOMBO - Pakistan’s Test and One-day skipper, Misbah ul Haq, is disappointed with his team’s fielding performance in the on-going tour of Sri Lanka and admits that his men do not have any room for error in the last two matches of the series.
The five-match series is currently level with a score-line of 1-1 and the third match was abandoned due to rain. The Green Shirts have looked a touch lacklustre on the tour so far and have dropped a number of crucial catches and missed many run-outs as well.
Pakistan’s captain understands that his team will have to improve in this facet of the game, if they are to give tough times to the major sides of the world. The middle-order batsman urged the Men in Green to consider the third ODI as a do-or-die fixture.
Misbah expressed, “After second one day loss that there is no margin for error and we will need to give our best tomorrow. Fielding is a very important factor when you are playing against top sides. We were a bit ordinary with the way we fielded and bowled.”
Sri Lanka have rested their left-arm spinner, Rangana Herath, which is a big loss for the home team as he has troubled the Pakistani batsmen in the past and bowled well in the initial two fixtures as well.
Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, revealed that the spinner could have carried on in the series with the niggles but the selectors wanted him completely fit for the upcoming Test competition, where Herath is expected to play a big role on the turning tracks.
“Bowling was no problem but he was struggling a little bit while fielding. After speaking to the selectors and the medical guys we felt that it’s best that he gets some rest before the test series because playing three tests is going to be a long series for him,” he said.
The Islanders played brilliantly in the second match to square the series and will look to repeat their performance today at Colombo.
Meanwhile, the remaining two matches in the one-day series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan will have reserve days due to rains in the country, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced on Friday.
The last two day-night games of the five-match series are scheduled to be played in Colombo on Saturday and Monday with rain forecast for both days. “Sri Lanka Cricket is pleased to announce that a reserve day has been allocated for the fourth and fifth one-day internationals against Pakistan,” the SLC said in a statement.
Rain has already affected the series, reducing the opening match in Pallekele to a 42-overs-a-side affair and restricting the third game in Colombo to just 6.2 overs before it was abandoned.
The series is currently tied 1-1, with Pakistan winning the opening match by six wickets and Sri Lanka taking the second by 76 runs. The one-dayers will be followed by a three-Test series, which opens in Galle on June 22.