Pakistan vs Sri Lanka ODI Preview & Tips - Pakistan backed for ODI tri-series glory

Sri Lanka limp into the ODI tri-series final having slipped to a heavy 55-run loss at the hands of England in the final group game. 

Against Sri Lanka, Pakistan were able to power to a winning score of 305 in their opener before bowling their opponents out for 268. Their final group game came against Sri Lanka again, and it was a timely wakeup call as they were skittled for 110 before seeing Sri Lanka cruise to an eight-wicket win. 

In their matches against England, Pakistan twice bowled their opponents out for below 250 runs as they found a way to take regular wickets and stunt England's big hitters. They did seriously ride their luck in their second clash with England as they secured a one-wicket win in a game that could have gone either way. 

In the ODI tri-series final, the focus will be on ensuring their batters can score consistently. Two scores of 300+ in their first two have been followed by a laboured run to 243/9 against England and 110 against Sri Lanka. While their bowlers have generally been on point, if their batting unit is put under the right pressure, they will struggle. 

Sri Lanka have generally looked solid across the series but, like Pakistan, they have the ability to crumble with the bat. If Pakistan can apply the right pressure, then they will likely win. Arafat Minhas has been very impressive across the series, taking nine wickets in four matches. I back him to get Sri Lanka in a spin as he stars with the ball. 

Bowling first, Sri Lanka were unable to remove Ben Duckett (167 from 132) before the opener did some serious damage. His opening stand with Tom Banton (74 from 75) saw England get off to a flying start on their way to an impressive score of 386/5. While Sri Lanka needed little reason to be hopeful considering their brilliant chase of 429 against the same opponent mere days ago, they could not get over the line this time. 

In their chase, Sri Lanka went from 315/5 to 331 as wickets tumbled late on. Like Pakistan, Sri Lanka do have a tendency to crumble when one or two wickets begin to fall, which could make this ODI tri-series final a fascinating watch. 

While they can fall back on their impressive eight-wicket win over Pakistan in their last meeting, I predict that Sri Lanka will suffer from going from a big win over an opponent to losing to the same side mere days later once again. They did it against England in the build-up to the final, and I predict they will suffer from another frustrating loss in this one.