Daijiworld Media Network

Dhaka, Mar 15 : Hello, and a warm welcome to one and all to Match 3 of the Asia Cup.

It is a big day for Sri Lanka. A win will keep their hopes alive while a loss will all but ensure their exit from the tournament. Mahela & co. have been used to such situations in Australia and they will be confident about their chances. Pakistan are their opponents today and a win for them will all but seal their spot in the finals.

Each and every game is an important one in the Asia Cup as the tournament in itself is a very short one. One loss could end or diminish the fortunes of a team, and that's exactly why it makes the clash between Pakistan and Sri Lanka a virtual knock out game for the latter. Pakistan overcame a spirited Bangladesh team in their opener, while Sri Lanka lost to India in their first game.

Pitch report: The pitch looks like an absolute beauty. Nothing on it to cause any worry for the batsmen. It looks like an even surface and the ball will come on to the bat easily. Chasing has been tough on this wicket and Sunil Gavaskar believes that the side that wins the toss will elect to bat first. So it is a pitch then that should have a lot of runs on offer.

Sri Lanka have won the toss and elected to bat

Mahela: I think the wicket has been used earlier so we will bat first. We want to get the runs on the board. It is an open tournament, India are yet to play Pakistan as well. We want to just open up and play some good cricket. I think we needed to make sure that Lasith gets some rest after the CB series but he is back for this match.

Misbah: We also wanted to bat first because we have a good bowling attack that can defend a score. We have added Hammad Azam to give us a little more of an option in the medium pace department. It is a challenge for us to pick up our batting today. There is less pressure on us right now because Sri Lanka are in a must win situation so it gives us a good chance to go out there and win this game.

Teams:

Pakistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Umar Akmal, Hammad Azam, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed(w), Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Mahela Jayawardene(c), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara(w), Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Upul Tharanga, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekara, Seekkuge Prasanna, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal