A century by opening batsman Imam ul Haq has put Pakistan in a commanding position in the third ODI against Sri Lanka.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat, setting a target of 318 for the home team. Imam lead all scorers with 101, with Babar Azam chipping in with 69 and Mohammad Hafeez with 52.
Pakistan beat South Africa in the first ODI at St George’s Park as Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez set up a five-wicket win, but South Africa bounced back in the next ODI in Durban with Hendrick ‘Rassie’ van der Dussen and Andile Phehlukwayo securing a series-levelling win at Kingsmead.
Seeing as how Centurion is known as a batting paradise, a high scoring match can be expected between the two sides. There have been 17 totals of 300-plus scored on the ground in ODIs.
South Africa and Pakistan have clashed five times at Centurion. The Proteas have won three matches, while Pakistan have won the other two.
The Proteas have made three changes to the squad: Dale Steyn and Quinton de Kock are back, replacing Duanne Olivier and Heinrich Klaasen, while Dane Paterson has been replaced by in-form left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks who will be making his debut.
For Pakistan Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir are back in the playing XI.
Pakistan’s build-up to the game had been marred by skipper Sarfraz Ahmed making alleged racist remarks towards South Africa all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo in Tuesday’s match, in which Phehlukwayo took four wickets and hit an unbeaten 69. Sarfraz issued a general apology on Twitter and insisted his remarks were not directed to anyone in particular.
The third ODI also means a Steyn vs Hafeez contest. In 28 meetings between the two, Hafeez has scored 158 runs against Steyn while being dismissed a staggering 15 times.
