Published: Dec 31, 2013, 11:50 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 02, 2014, 05:11 PM (IST)
Dec 31, 2013
Sri Lanka have not played since beating minnows Bangladesh 1-0 in a two-Test series at home in March and their last Test against a major opponent was in January when they played Australia.
South Africa failed the challenge when they played Pakistan in October – also their first since February – and lost in Abu Dhabi by seven wickets.
However, the Proteas, ranked number one in Tests, went on to level the series 1-1 with a win in the second Test in Dubai.
Sri Lanka’s second challenge in the three-Test series will be to thwart wily Saeed Ajmal, and Angelo Mathews showed confidence his team will cope well against the Pakistani off-spinner.
Kumar Sangakkara accumulated a mammoth 516 in the three Tests in 2011 and then amassed 490 in three Tests when Sri Lanka beat Pakistan at home last year.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq vowed his team will carry the confidence of a 3-2 one-day series win over Sri Lanka last week.
Teams:
Pakistan: Khurram Manzoor, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal (wk), Bilawal Bhatti, Saeed Ajmal, Rahat Ali, Junaid Khan.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews (c), Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Shaminda Eranga, Suranga Lakmal.
Catch live scores and ball-by-ball commentary of the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka here
