سری لنکن کرکٹ ٹیم جلد پاکستان کا دورہ کرے گی : سری لنکن صدر

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اسلام آباد ( مانیٹرنگ ڈیسک ) سری لنکن صدر کی جانب سے اعلان کیا گیا ہے کہ ان کی کرکٹ ٹیم جلد پاکستان کا دورہ کرے گی۔تفصیلات کے مطابق سری لنکن صدر میتھری پالا سری دورہ پاکستان پر اسلام آباد موجود ہیں جہاں انہیں صدر پاکستان ممنون حسین کی جانب سے عشائیہ دیا گیا ہے۔اس عشائیہ کے دوران سری لنکن صدر نے اعلان کیا ہے کہ بہت جلد ان کی کرکٹ ٹیم پاکستان کا دورہ کرے گی اور یہاں بین الاقوامی کرکٹ کی راہیں کھولی جائیں گے۔

اس موقع پر صدر ممنون حسین کا کہنا تھا کہ 2009 ءمیں ہونے والا کرکٹ ٹیم پر حملہ افسوسناک تھا۔سری لنکن ٹیم پر ہونے والے حملے کے حوالے سے صدر ممنون حسین کا کہنا تھا کہ آئندہ اس قسم کا واقعہ نہیں ہونے دیا جائے گا اور سری لنکن کرکٹ ٹیم کی بھرپور حفاظت کی جائے گی۔یاد رہے 2009 ءمیں لاہور کے لبرٹی چوک میں سری لنکن کرکٹ ٹیم پر دہشت گردوں کی جانب سے حملہ کر دیا گیا تھا اور اس کے بعد پاکستان میں عالمی کرکٹ کے دروازے بند ہو گئے تھے۔2009 ءسے اب تک پاکستان میں کوئی بھی عالمی کرکٹ ٹورنامنٹ نہیں کھیلا گیا لیکن سری لنکن صدر کی جانب سے اس اعلان نے ایک مرتبہ پھر پاکستان میں عالمی کرکٹ کے دروازے کھل جانے کی امید ہے۔

Sri Lanka bat, Kusal Perera included

Angelo Mathews won the toss and Sri Lanka will bat first against Scotland at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The teams made three changes each for what is Sri Lanka's last match of the pool stage and Scotland's penultimate fixture.

Sri Lanka brought in Dushmantha Chameera for his second ODI and Nuwan Kulasekara for his second game of the tournament, and Kusal Perera was also included having been added to the squad to replace the injured Dinesh Chandimal. Upul Tharanga and Sachithra Senanayake were also left out.
Scotland brought in Freddie Coleman, Rob Taylor and Michael Leask, and left out Majid Haq, Hamish Gardiner and Iain Wardlaw. The match was set to begin in slightly cloudy weather, although the forecast for the day was good.
 
Scotland 1 Kyle Coetzer, 2 Calum MacLeod, 3 Matt Machan, 4 Preston Mommsen (capt), 5 Freddie Coleman, 6 Richie Berrington, 7 Matt Cross (wk), 8 Josh Davey, 9 Rob Taylor, 10 Michael Leask, 11 Alasdair Evans.
 
Sri Lanka 1 Lahiru Thirimanne, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Kusal Perera, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Seekkuge Prasanna, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Lasith Malinga.

SL push to consolidate position

 Bangladesh's win over England means the quarter-finalists are decided in Pool A, and all that remains is to settle their positions. Should results fall as form would suggest, Sri Lanka will finish third in the group and Bangladesh fourth. But Scotland can throw those predictions off if they manage to beat Sri Lanka or Australia over the next week in Hobart. It would be some sort of story; Scotland debuted in the World Cup in 1999 but are yet to win a game.

So far in this tournament, Sri Lanka have beaten England, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and lost to Australia and New Zealand. Their plans have been affected by injuries, though, with four changes already made to the squad. Dinesh Chandimal is the latest casualty, ruled out after suffering a hamstring strain during the loss to Australia. Rangana Herath is also nursing a finger injury but remains part of the squad.

In the spotlight

Kyle Coetzer has enjoyed a strong month against the Full Members, having scored 96 in a World Cup warm-up against West Indies, followed in the tournament proper by 71 against England and 156 against Bangladesh. If anyone is likely to deliver Scotland a challenging total against Sri Lanka, it is Coetzer.

Sri Lanka have pinned plenty of hopes on Lasith Malinga's recovery of fitness and form, and against Australia, Malinga appeared to be nearing his best. His deliveries still barely breached 140kph, but the yorkers were tailing into middle stump again, and the bouncers and slower balls were finding their targets as well. Despite bowling in the most hectic phases of the innings, Malinga traveled at less than a run-a-ball. His fielding appears to be gradually improving too, and Sri Lanka may well have him peaking by the quarter-final, as they had always hoped. They just need to find him some adequate support.

Team news

Scotland have a full squad to select from, though they were waiting to see the pitch before deciding whether any changes would be made.

Scotland (possible) 1 Kyle Coetzer, 2 Calum MacLeod, 3 Hamish Gardiner, 4 Matt Machan, 5 Preston Mommsen (capt), 6 Richie Berrington, 7 Matthew Cross (wk), 8 Josh Davey, 9 Majid Haq, 10 Alasdair Evans, 11 Iain Wardlaw

New entrant Kusal Perera may play in Chandimal's stead. Herath is also unavailable. Sri Lanka will likely jettison one of their specialist spin bowlers for this match, which would allow Suranga Lakmal to return to the XI. There is also a chance Dushmantha Chameera could play, if Sri Lanka opt for four specialist bowlers.

Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Lahiru Thirimanne, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Kusal Perera 7 Upul Tharanga/Dushmantha Chameera, 8 Thisara Perara, 9 Seekkuge Prasanna, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Suranga Lakmal

Pitch and conditions

The Bellerive pitch has been high scoring this summer, with Australia chasing down 304 against England in January and Zimbabwe almost overhauling Ireland's 331 on Saturday. The forecast for Wednesday is for a partly cloudy day and a top of 22C.

Stats and trivia

These teams have met only once before: Sri Lanka enjoyed a 183-run victory in Edinburgh in July 2011

Kyle Coetzer is 29 runs away from becoming the third man to score 1000 ODI runs for Scotland

Kumar Sangakkara is the only batsman to have scored more than one century in this World Cup. He has made three

World Cup 2015: 2015 March 10, 2015

Chandimal ruled out of World Cup

Dinesh Chandimal smashed 52 off 24 balls in his first World Cup innings before retiring hurt 

Dinesh Chandimal has been ruled out of the World Cup due to the hamstring strain he suffered in Sunday's match against Australia. Kusal Perera, who has been training with the squad in Australia since last week, has been included into the squad, coach Marvan Atapattu confirmed.

Chandimal tweaked a hamstring in his right thigh when attempting a tight second run in the 41st over in Sydney. He immediately called for on-field treatment, but despite a rest and a rub-down, was significantly hampered by the injury.

He stayed at the crease to complete his fifty, but was forced to retire hurt in the 42nd over, when running between the wickets proved too difficult. His 52 not out off 24 balls - in his first World Cup innings - had done much to raise hopes of a successful Sri Lanka run chase. Their challenge petered out after his exit.

Kusal Perera has largely played as an opener over the past two years, but if he enters the XI, he is likely to resume batting in the middle order, where he had begun his career. He had been flown into Sydney as cover last week, when Dimuth Karunaratne suffered a blow on his hand that ruled him out of the tournament. Kusal arrives with a little form behind him. He hit a 68-ball 74 and a 69-ball 108 not out in a first-class encounter at home a few days before he set out for Australia.
Chandimal is the fifth Sri Lanka player to sustain an injury during Sri Lanka's campaign. Fast bowler

Dhammika Prasad, slow-bowling allrounder Jeevan Mendis and batsman Karunaratne have already been ruled out of the tournament, and Rangana Herath is still recovering from a cut to his spinning finger. Herath is also unavailable for the match against Scotland.