Sri Lanka looking to make amends

Sri Lanka need to find an extra gear to stop a rampant Pakistan in the final of the Sharjah triangular series on Friday.

Sri Lanka limped into the final with just one win in four matches, edging out New Zealand on net run rate, while Pakistan powered through with a 100 per cent record.

"No doubt, we have done well in league matches. But the final is a different ball game altogether," said Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis.

"What happened in early matches will mean nothing if you don't perform well during those seven hours on Friday.

"We are confident but at the same time we are not taking Sri Lanka lightly. They have a very solid side and we respect them."

Waqar gave full credit to experienced batsmen Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq for doing most of the hard work earlier in the competition.

"They are the backbone of our team and I hope they will see us through in the final as well," he said.

Both Anwar and Inzamam enjoyed a rich vein of form in the round-robin stages, scoring 267 and 287 runs respectively.

"What will happen if they do get out early? We don't want to think negative. But we do plan things before every match and it will be the case tomorrow as well," said Waqar.

"If we lose one wicket, the other follows immediately. This is what we have noticed and will try not to repeat in the final."

The Pakistan captain, who will spearhead the pace attack with Mohammed Sami, is hoping the youngster will shine.

"Sami is one of the newcomers and he is pretty talented. We look to him to deliver the goods in the company of the experienced Saqlain Mushtaq."

The Sri Lankans go into the final knowing their players must get more runs.

"Our top batsmen need to perform with more application. They have not been batting as well as they did against England recently," said skipper Sanath Jayasuriya.

"We have beaten Pakistan in the past and there is no reason why we can't do it here. But to do that we have to play to our potential. We have forgotten all that happened in league matches.

"Friday will be a new day, a new match and we are determined to make amends."

Teams (from):
Pakistan: Waqar Younis (captain), Shahid Afridi, Imran Nazir, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Abdur Razzaq, Faisal Iqbal, Shoaib Malik, Farhat Humayun, Saqlain Mushtaq, Imran Farhat, Mohammed Sami.

Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Romesh Kaluwitharana, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Russel Arnold, Kumar Dharmasena, Indika de Saram, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera, Akalanka Ganegama, Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando.

Mail Cricket Editor