Toss Pakistan chose to bowl vs Sri Lanka
Pakistan have won the toss and opted to field in the final of the tri-series against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi.
This match is a repeat of Thursday’s game, which Sri Lanka were required to win to qualify. Having won by six runs in that game, Sri Lanka have made no changes to their XI. Batter Pavan Rathnayake, who has debuted in this tournament but has not batted yet, is in the XI again. Sri Lanka’s two most-experienced spinners – Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana – are in the XI, with Dushmantha Chameera and Eshan Malinga the frontline seam options.
Pakistan, meanwhile, are strengthened by the return of Shaheen Afridi, who has sufficiently recovered from a minor injury to return to the side. He replaces Mohammad Wasim in the XI. Seamers Salman Mirza and Faheem Ashraf, plus spinners Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz make up the attack.
The track for this final is expected to assist the spinners more than previous pitches this tournament, with the square at Rawalpindi having seen significant traffic over the past few weeks.
Before the national anthems, a minute’s silence was observed for the victims of the ongoing crisis precipitated by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kamil Mishara, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, 5 Janith Liyanage, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Pavan Rathnayake, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Eshan Malinga
Pakistan: 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Salman Agha (capt), 5 Fakhar Zaman, 6 Usman Khan (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Salman Mirza, 11 Abrar Ahmed
