COLOMBO, July 24: Pakistan, arguably one of the most unpredictable sides in world cricket, play their crucial Asia Cup Super League match against traditional rivals India on Sunday at the R. Premadasa Stadium with just one objective in mind - a much-needed win that will keep alive their otherwise slim hope of making to the final.
It will require a supreme effort from the defending champions to beat the Indians, who are currently rated among the top teams in one-dayers. Defeating such an outfit will not be an easy task, but Inzamamul Haq and his boys have the talent and the capability to win against all kinds of opponents provided they play to their potential.
But so unpredictable are the Pakistanis that one cannot predict anything about their performance. They are known to blow hot and cold. And when they are hot they are really hot. Yet, when they are cold - as was the case against Sri Lanka three days ago - they get frosty.
Unfortunately, a string of bad results have afflicted Pakistan in recent years. They are left with no alternative but to come out all guns blazing on Sunday to further their prospects in a competition revolving around three teams.
Pakistan's inconsistency has been a major obstacle since they won the 1992 World Cup under Imran Khan. Despite change of guards in the team management every now and then, the consistency is still missing at the highest level especially against real opponents, other than Bangladesh, Hong Kong etc.
Historically, Sri Lanka has not been a happy hunting ground for the Pakistanis in the one-dayers. They failed to make to the final of a tri-nation tournament involving the hosts and South Africa several years ago and lost in the first round of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002.
Even for the Indians, this fixture - virtually a semifinal - is of great importance as they can't afford to slip against Pakistan because their remaining Super League opponents are Sri Lanka, who have already beaten them in the league round. A defeat against their closest neighbours will certainly dent India's hopes of reaching the final.
On paper, both teams are balanced. If India possess a better batting lineup then Pakistan have an edge in the bowling department. There is hardly difference between the two sides when it comes to fielding. Both of them have lost many a match in the past because of shoddy ground fielding and poor catching. The catching factor could even prove decisive.
Both camps have still not worked out their playing XIs. Pakistan are desperately trying to get opener Imran Farhat fit to take his place on Sunday. He is still nursing a twisted ankle injury and if he fails a fitness test then his unrelated namesake Imran Nazir will once again open with Yasir Hameed.
India has no injury problems. Paceman Zaheer Khan is fit, but whether he will make the final lineup is anybody's guess. India, as usual, are likely to enter this match with seven frontline batsmen and four specialist bowlers with Rahul Dravid donning the wicket-keeping gloves yet again.
Everyone here believes that the Premadasa Stadium strip is good for batting and a total of over 250 should not be beyond the reach of both Pakistan and India. Often such claims do go wrong as the Pakistanis proved here when they failed to last the 50 overs and were shot out for 122 in 39.5 overs - their lowest one-day score against Sri Lanka.
Teams (from):
PAKISTAN: Inzamamul Haq (captain), Yasir Hameed, Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Moin Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Rana Naveedul Hasan.
INDIA: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Ashish Nehra.
Umpires: Billy Bowden (New Zealand) and Billy Doctrove (West Indies).
TV umpire: Gamini Silva (Sri Lanka).
Match referee: Mike Procter (South Africa).