Shahid Afridi will be leading Pakistan for the first time in Twenty20 internationals when they play Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka's famously unorthodox outfit were unstoppable at the World Twenty20 in June until they ran into a fired-up Pakistan in the final. Since then, Kumar Sangakkara's men have shown their superiority over Pakistan in the Tests and one-dayers. So a win in the Wednesday's Twenty20 will be revenge as well as icing on the cake.
Both sides are missing key players from their World Twenty20 campaigns: Tillakaratne Dilshan, the most inventive and effective of Sri Lanka's batsmen in England, is injured, as is fast bowler Umar Gul, whose reverse-swing confounded Pakistan's opponents. Pakistan will miss the services of Abdul Razzaq too. Also, the form of two of Sri Lanka's bowling stars, Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga, has nosedived alarmingly.
Batting has been Pakistan's weakness on this tour but when it comes to Twenty20s, they are bursting with firepower. The emergence of Umar Akmal and the return of Nasir Jamshed and Imran Nazir gives their new captain, Shahid Afridi, plenty of big-hitters to choose from.
Despite defeats in the Tests and the first three ODIs, Pakistan will be confident after pulling off two straight one-day wins, particularly because of the dramatic failure of Sri Lanka's batting in those games.
