Sri Lanka Bats First in Asia Cup Opener Against Pak

Dambulla: Sri Lanka's captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat first in the opening Asia Cup match at Rangiri Dambulla Stadium on Monday.

Sri Lanka is looking for a third consecutive Asia Cup title, having won the previous two editions in 2004 and 2008. But this time around, the team will be without star batsman Sanath Jayasuriya and spin bowler Ajantha Mendis, whose efforts won them the cup in 2008.

Pakistan which last were crowned Asian champions a decade ago has included fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar in their lineup and handed one-day international caps to 20-year-old batsmen Shahzaib Hasan and Umar Amin.

Teams

Sri Lanka Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Farveez Maharoof, Chamara Kapugedera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga.

Pakistan Shahid Afridi (captain), Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hasan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Amin, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamir.

Scores	Upcoming	Results
South Africa vs Pakistan - 3rd ODI 4th Test - Australia v India - December 26-30, 23:30 GMT 1st Test - Zimbabwe v Afghanistan - December 26-30, 07:30 GMT 3rd ODI - Zimbabwe v Afghanistan at Harare Afghanistan won by 8 wickets (with 139 balls remaining) 3rd T20I - West Indies v Bangladesh at St Vincent Bangladesh won by 80 runs

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