May 18, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 01, 1428

ABU DHABI, May 17: Sri Lanka will be hoping to improve their International Cricket Council (ICC) one-day ranking when they face Pakistan in the opening game of a three-match One-day International series at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium here on Friday.

Sri Lanka are placed joint fourth along with Pakistan in the ICC one-day ratings with both teams having 110 points each. World Champions Australia head the points table with 129 points followed by South Africa (125) and New Zealand (115).

The Abu Dhabi series will also provide Sri Lanka a chance to give their departing coach Tom Moody a grand farewell.

The Sri Lankans will be really tested by a new-look Pakistan outfit, led by a young Shoaib Malik with Mohammad Asif as his deputy, and who will be determined to bounce back after their shocking exit from the World Cup.

Odds are also in favour of Pakistan as they have always had better of exchanges in the last few outings against the Sri Lankans. Last time, the two teams clashed in the ICC Champions Trophy where Pakistan emerged victorious by four wickets in Jaipur, India.

Pakistan also won a three-match ODI series 2-0 in 2006 after the first game was washed out.

Sri Lanka’s track record against Pakistan at neutral venues is also not very much impressive with 20 wins from 62 encounters. Pakistan emerged victorious on 40 occasions with one tied match and one no result in these games.

Altogether the two teams, so far, have played 107 ODIs against each other with Pakistan winning 65, Sri Lanka 38 with one tied game and three ended as no results.

Meanwhile, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium is all set to host an exciting series between World Cup runners-up Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

All the matches will be day-night affairs starting at 4pm (UAE time) and will be the first international assignments for both the teams after the World Cup.

While Pakistan have played on this pitch earlier, this will be the first visit to Abu Dhabi for an upbeat Sri Lankan squad.

Dilawar Mani, CEO of the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council (ADCC), said: “The one-day series again offers a wonderful opportunity to the fans to witness two top international sides play. Both sides have great talent and an exciting contest is in the offing. Both cricket boards, the PCB and SLC, have offered unconditional support.”

The series was made possible by the remarkable support provided by Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan, chairman of the ADCC, he added.—Agencies