Asia Cup Preview: Pakistan kickstart title defence vs Sri Lanka

Pakistan are determined to defend their trophy, but Sri Lanka’s captain Angelo Mathews remains optimistic as the two cricket giants face off in the opening match of the five-nation Asia Cup on Tuesday. Pakistan, who won the title in 2012, are aiming to put pressure on their opponents with a team balancing experienced players and newcomers. Both teams are focusing not just on the opening match but on the whole tournament. “We have played a lot against Pakistan and India,” Mathews told reporters at a news briefing on Monday. “We know them and they also know us.” [caption id=“attachment_1406401” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Pakistan, who won the title in 2012, are aiming to put pressure on their opponents with a team balancing experienced players and newcomers. AP[/caption] “All the teams are even. They will want to win the matches. We also would like to win. Hopefully there will be a really good competition,” he added. “I think we need to show more good performance to go further,” Mathews said. “Beating Bangladesh 3-0 doesn’t mean that it would be easier for us to win the Asia Cup. It will be a tough tournament and there will be huge challenges.” Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq said on Sunday that they have taken spirit from the series wins over Sri Lanka and South Africa, and will fight to defend the Asia Cup title. The team beat Bangladesh in the 2012 final. While the team has several relatively-inexperienced players including Sharjeel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Mohammad Talha, Bilawal Bhatti and Anwar Ali, it also has Misbah himself and Mohammad Hafeez, who will play a key role in the side’s batting. “Ahmed Shehzad has been part of our team for quite a while, he has been doing well,” Misbah said. “Sharjeel Khan had an average series, but he gave glimpses of being a good player, he can time the ball well. We are looking forward to seeing him develop into a good player,” he said. “Maqsood played well in South Africa and against Sri Lanka. With experienced players, a few youngsters like Anwar Ali and Bilawal Bhatti, they are putting together some good scores. I am happy that it is a good, balanced unit,” he said. Misbah is not willing to take the Asia Cup tournament lightly, and is even serious about first-timer Afghanistan. “All teams have ability to win against any side,” he said. “It will be good competition. The last Asia Cup was witness of that — Bangladesh beat two big teams and they came close to us. You can expect any team to win against any team.” Squads: Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Sharjeel Khan, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Fawad Alam, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Mohammad Talha Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Lasith Malinga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Suranga Lakmal, Chaturanga De Silva, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Ashan Priyanjan. AP