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Toss Pakistan chose to bat v Sri Lanka
Misbah-ul-Haq called correctly and for the fifth match in a row in this series, the team winning the toss chose to bat. There has been plenty of debate about whether Pakistan need to play an extra batsman in this series, and Misbah decided they needed to, bringing in a specialist batsman Asad Shafiq in place of the fast bowler Rahat Ali. The move means Mohammad Sami, who bowled well in the first ODI before missing the second with a thumb injury, remains on the sidelines.
Sri Lanka also made only one change, handing 34-year-old left-arm spinner Sajeewa Weerakoon a debut in place of another 34-year-old left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who has been rested for the remainder of the series.
Rain is forecast for the afternoon and evening in Colombo, and the match could prove to be a stop-start affair. There was an indication of that soon after the toss, when a brief shower forced the groundstaff to bring out the covers.
Pakistan 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Azhar Ali, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq* (capt), 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Sohail Tanvir
Sri Lanka 1 Tillakarate Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Sajeewa Weerakoon
Misbah-ul-Haq called correctly and for the fifth match in a row in this series, the team winning the toss chose to bat. There has been plenty of debate about whether Pakistan need to play an extra batsman in this series, and Misbah decided they needed to, bringing in a specialist batsman Asad Shafiq in place of the fast bowler Rahat Ali. The move means Mohammad Sami, who bowled well in the first ODI before missing the second with a thumb injury, remains on the sidelines.
Sri Lanka also made only one change, handing 34-year-old left-arm spinner Sajeewa Weerakoon a debut in place of another 34-year-old left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who has been rested for the remainder of the series.
Rain is forecast for the afternoon and evening in Colombo, and the match could prove to be a stop-start affair. There was an indication of that soon after the toss, when a brief shower forced the groundstaff to bring out the covers.
Pakistan 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Azhar Ali, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq* (capt), 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Sohail Tanvir
Sri Lanka 1 Tillakarate Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Sajeewa Weerakoon