Pakistan Seek End Sri Lanka Series with High in T20

Abu Dhabi: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq is hoping to win the Twenty20 match against Sri Lanka on Friday to lift their rankings and give them a clean sweep of the series after their Test and one-day victories.

Pakistan, the 2009 World Twenty20 champions, have lost 13 of their last 24 matches in the shortest form of the game which plunged them to seventh in the inaugural Twenty20 rankings released last month.

But Misbah said he was confident his team would continue to improve after beating Sri Lanka 1-0 in three Tests and 4-1 in the five-match one-day series.

Misbah said the one-day series win excited him. Misbah, who has now won nine of the 10 one-day internationals since taking over as limited over captain in June, said they aimed to improve with every match.

The victory lifted Pakistan to fifth in International Cricket Council one-day rankings.

Sri Lanka, relegated to four from two in one-day rankings, are second in Twenty20 rankings and their captain Tillakaratne Dilshan is hoping his batsmen lift themselves for their only Twenty20 match after an unimpressive performance during the whole tour.

"It's disappointing to lose the one-day series and we need to quickly address our batting problems before our tour of South Africa," said Dilshan of his team's tour next month where they play three Tests and five one-days.

"It will be a new game on Friday and the change of format, so I hope the players lift themselves," said Dilshan whose team will also have the services of mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis for the Twenty20 match.

Dilshan praised the Pakistan team as "one of the best in the world."

"Pakistan has more options than us and the way they played on this tour to me they are one of the top teams in the world," said Dilshan, who has lost three Tests and three one-day series since taking over in May.

In Mahela Jayawardene's absence, Sri Lanka might be forced to open with Dinesh Chandimal, unless Upul Tharanga gets a look in. Given his poor ODI form, that is unlikely.

Teams from

Pakistan: Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Sohail Tanvir, Asad Shafiq.

Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan (captain), Angelo Mathews, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Kushal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Ajantha Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Kosala Kulasekera, Charmara Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne.

Stats and trivia

• There's a Pakistan traffic-jam at the head of the list of leading wicket-takers in the format. Shahid Afridi has 53, followed by Umar Gul (47) and Saeed Ajmal (45). How Sri Lanka would have loved to have No. 4 on that list - Ajantha Mendis - fit and available.
• Dilshan is one of only five T20I centurions. Jayawardene is another, but like Mendis, he isn't around for this game.

Match facts
Friday, November 25, 2011 (day/night)
Start time 2000 local (1600 GMT)