Pakistan vs Sri Lanka: Hosts lead head-to-head record against SL

Sri Lanka and Pakistan gear up for a bilateral series which consists of three ODIs and three T20Is. The ODIs will be played in Karachi and the T20Is are slated to take place in Lahore. This is the first time international cricket will be played in Karachi since 2009. Let us take a look at the record the countries hold against each other.

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Pakistan have dominated Sri Lanka

The two teams have had 153 matches out of which Pakistan have won 90, while Sri Lanka have registered 58 wins. There has been one such contest between them where the match ended in a tie, while five matches have had no results. Their last scheduled encounter was at the 2019 ICC World Cup which got washed out. The teams played their last ODI match in 2017 and that match was won by Pakistan as they whitewashed Sri Lanka in the series 5-0. Babar Azam and Hasan Ali inflicted the most damage on Sri Lanka in that series. 

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Odds not in Sri Lanka's favour

This tour is the beginning of a new chapter in Pakistan cricket as they make an effort to slowly but steadily readopt stadiums in Pakistan as their home grounds. The problems started in 2009 when a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan squad caused havoc. Since then, teams have been reluctant to tour Pakistan. Although efforts have been made to reduce this, the Sri Lankan team was still not entirely convinced.

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The security planning was revealed to the Sri Lankan Cricket Board (SLC) which verified the efforts and conveyed the same to their players. The players were still allowed to make their own decisions and were told that their future selection would not be affected. Under this, players like Lasith Malinga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Thisara Perera and seven others stepped out of the final squad. As it appears, the Sri Lankan squad seems weak and in a time where they were already struggling to find their footing, a weaker squad could further set them back. 

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