06 October 2004	Wednesday	20 Shaban 1425

KARACHI, Oct 5: Pakistan captain Inzamamul Haq predicted a close game when his team faces Sri Lanka for the first time in the tri-series here on Wednesday.

"I don't agree with Marvan Atapattu's assessment about Pakistan being favourites to lift the one-day trophy," Inzamam told reporters at the National Stadium after a training session on Tuesday.

"In one-day cricket it's always difficult to predict the winners when two evenly-matched teams play. In my view, there is no such thing as favourites. "We are ready for them and looking forward to do well in the first real challenge in this tournament."

Inzamam stressed that Sri Lanka, who won Asia Cup, are a good side. "They were formidable against South Africa, weren't they? We will have to play out of our skin to beat them here. But this can only be achieved through hard work."

Pakistan captain, however, expressed his concern over top-order's failure. "Honestly speaking, we are experiencing a lot of problems with our top-order batting. The remaining batsmen are forced to bat under pressure because of poor start in almost every match we have played recently.

"After trying different combinations, we are still searching for a solid pair of openers and I'm hopeful that we will succeed in finding one." Inzamam maintained that even without Muttiah Muralitharan, the off-spinner who is currently recuperating from a shoulder surgery on his bowling arm, the Sri Lankans are certain to give Pakistan a tough time in the coming days.

"On paper, it looks an easy task to face a team lacking Muralitharan. But remember, they won against South Africa without him." Sri Lankan skipper Marvan Atapattu reiterated that his team will not take Pakistan lightly despite being current Asian champions.

"As I said on Monday, Asia Cup is a thing of the past. It is finished. This is a new tournament for us away from home. "But we need to capitalise on the Asia Cup success and build on that win by achieving good results over here."

Meanwhile, Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, dismissed speculations about Moin Khan's future. "Moin is not playing because he has taken ill. But I can assure you that he is still our first-choice wicket keeper when he is fit enough to play. I sincerely hope that he recovers quickly," he remarked.