RAWALPINDI: After a day and a night of chaos, focus will finally shift back to cricket when Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in the second One-day International at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.

The encounter — Pakistan’s opportunity to wrap up their second successive ODI series — comes after a turbulent 48 hours that threatened to overshadow the cricket itself. The match was originally slated for Thursday, but the schedule was thrown into disarray after a terror attack in Islamabad on Tuesday sparked understandable concern within the Sri Lankan camp.

Reports soon emerged that several visiting players were contemplating abandoning the tour altogether. The uncertainty prompted urgent intervention from Pakistan’s interior minister and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who, along with the country’s top security officials, held lengthy discussions with the Sri Lankan delegation to assure them of their safety.

By late Wednesday night, the situation had stabilised. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) reaffirmed its commitment to completing the series, a gesture that was met with appreciation across Pakistan.

“Thank you Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan cricket board,” Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi said in a video released by the PCB. “You have supported us in difficult times. We are grateful.”

Speculation that a few Sri Lankan players would fly home and be replaced by fresh faces was swiftly denied by the team’s manager, who confirmed there would be no changes to the touring party. That assurance means the visitors will field a full-strength line-up in Rawalpindi as they attempt to level the three-match series following a narrow defeat in the opener.

In the first ODI, Pakistan’s six-run victory owed much to a remarkable century by Salman Ali Agha and a fiery spell of fast bowling from Haris Rauf. The two combined to restrict Sri Lankan dominance at crucial junctures before the match went Pakistan’s way.

Salman, coming in with his side struggling at 76-3, stitched together a crucial 138-run partnership with Hussain Talat to lift Pakistan to a defendable total. Haris then ripped through Sri Lanka’s top order with four wickets, halting their chase just when it appeared they were cruising.

Shaheen’s men, however, will be aware that they cannot rely on individual brilliance alone. Their top order faltered once again, scoring just 76 in the first 20 overs, a familiar pattern that has left Pakistan’s middle order under constant pressure in recent months. The bowling, too, lacked discipline early on, as Sri Lanka raced to 85 in 12 overs before Haris’ intervention.

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka, meanwhile, will take heart from his side’s aggressive start in the first match but lamented the lack of composure during key phases. The visitors also found themselves on the wrong side of fortune, having burned both their reviews early before one tight lbw shout against Hussain that replays later suggested could have gone either way.

“It was phenomenal, the way our bowlers started,” Asalanka said afterwards. “But one decision went against us, and that was unlucky. We couldn’t capitalise after that.”

With the series on the line, both teams will look to regroup mentally after the off-field turbulence. Pakistan will want to build on their momentum and seal the contest, while Sri Lanka will hope to draw inspiration from their composure in adversity.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2025