Pakistan:

 
- Poor form of Abdul Razzaq with the bat and his lethargic approach to the context of the game as well as towards the ground fielding. Need to bring Shoaib Mailk in the side.

- Umar Akmal's Mojo Jojo thinking, not a batsman on this planet can hit each and every ball, then how could you young Akmal? Need to focus more.

- Utilization of batting powerplay: so far in the ODI series Pakistan has been pathetic in powerplay overs. Trying to many different things and losing lots of wickets meanwhile has been a routine for Pakistan. Team Green must learn how to rotate the strike on regular basis during the powerplay and that is all what is required. Milk singles and doubles every ball, put bad balls away to the boundary and 40-45 runs can easily be scored of those 5 overs.  

No need to take extra risks and play brainless aerial shots.

- Sarfaraz Ahmad has a very good domestic batting record, Pakistan has failed to utilize him properly. In my book Sarfaraz is a perfect number 6. Send him up the order. Afridi to bat at number 7.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka go into the 4th ODI with Pakistan leading the series 2-1 and requiring a victory to seal the series. Sri Lanka have been a real mix bag in the series thus far, with the bowling being their strong point and not their batting.

The Sri Lankan's will be hoping to see their batting fire against a Pakistan bowling line-up that is performing to their high standards. The positive for the Lankan's has to be Dilshan and Sangakarra getting some runs but they need to be assisted by the likes of Chandimal and Mahela Jayawardene.

Likewise Pakistan, despite making a superb start of 151-0 in 30 overs slumped to only get 257. The worrying signs were how the batsman gave away their wickets in lacklustre style. Poor run-outs and getting caught at the boundary being set were not what you expect from a big nation.

Ground:

 
Sharjah is back with ODI's after 2003. Sharjah has hosted 200 ODI's (more than any other stadium in the World). Pakistan have played 108 of them games, winning 74 and losing 33 with 1 tie. Sri Lanka have played 75 games, winning 29, losing 44 with 2 ties. Both teams head to head comes out with a surprise reading with 32 games played, Pakistan winning 19, losing 12 and having 1 tie. So 37% of Pakistan's defeat's at Sharjah come at the hands of Sri Lanka.

Dear boy what a finish to such a nail biter. Pakistan held their nerve in the tense finish. It always is about holding the nerve. Or is it not? Sri Lankan team did their best but could not deliver that finishing blow, which Umar Gul did for Pakistan.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan decided to bat after winning the toss, which really was not any biggy of a surprise. Pakistani openers started off really positively, putting Malinga away for 10 runs in his very first over, though that momentum did not last long as Sri Lankans pulled off the things quite wonderfully. Sri Lankans bowlers did not do anything extra-ordinary but just stuck to their basics, bowled tight off-stump lines and almost put a full stop the flow of runs for Pakistani batsmen.

Pakistani openers did not lose any heart as well; they too stuck to their basics. Maneuvered the ball through them gaps and occasionally hitting the skin off the bad balls. Farhat had rather more chances than Mohammad Hafeez to free his arms and keep his strike rate intact. Hafeez on the other hand found it real hard to put Sri Lankan pacers' tight liners away. Thus he took his time and when he had his feet moving, he took the game away from the bowlers in jiffy. Pakistan were off to a brilliant 150 runs opening start in span of 29.2 overs when Sri Lanka's desperately desired break through flashed in form of a lazy shot from the bat of a very tired Mohammad Hafeez.

One of the founder members of KheloPakistan.com. Ahsan is a business student and resides in Hong Kong as per his academic career commitments. A patriot Pakistani and a passionate cricket fanatic he is. A very nice and straight forward guy who himself plays cricket at the club level. We bring you an interview of him. 

Tell us about yourself?
Ahsan Awan - 23, skinny and interested in social sciences.

What are the sports that you follow and which one is your real passion?
Cricket obviously has been the #1 passion for as long as I can remember. Was hooked onto ice hockey, due to its fast paced nature.

The development of associates is crucial in enhancing the sport in other parts of the globe which is key to promoting the sport and making it more of a global spectacle with more countries participating and competing at the top level.

Which 2 associates will qualify for the 2012 ICC 20/20 WC? The development of associates is crucial in enhancing the sport in other parts of the globe which is key to promoting the sport and making it more of a global spectacle with more countries participating and competing at the top level as well as getting new people into it and help them develop their understanding on the rules for 
example. So far each ICC World T20 has only had 12 teams participating with 2 associates getting an opportunity to qualify.

The Sri Lankan hosted tournament which kicks off on 18th September 2012 will be no different with an initial 3 team preliminary stage followed up by super eights and then the business end of the tournament with semi finals and a final on Sunday 7th October in Colombo.

The wizard from Kandy bid adieu to international cricket on 2nd April 2011, the World Cup final was the last match played by the legendary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan; however, we haven't seen the last of his knotty art yet. The genius from Sri Lanka , who is adored and applauded as one of the two great spin bowlers of his generation, might no longer be able to hurl those venomous off-spinners, but he continues to be a source of inspiration for the generations to follow. For young offies he is nothing less a superhuman.

Off-spin is one of the most intricate arts one will ever find, it's like Mona Lisa's smile. If viewed by itself it may look horrible to most art lovers; But the impact of this magical smile comes out only when the whole portrait is viewed in its entireity.

Extras: 

 During the 2nd ODI, a plenty of extras helped Sri Lanka. Pakistani bowlers bowled 16 wides balls and had 25 extras, whereas Sri Lanka bowled only 7 wides and a total of only 13 runs were given on account of extras. Extras were a major difference between the two sides.

Running between the wickets:

Running between the wickets was really poor in the second ODI. Pakistan lost itheir 3 wickets because of some lethargic running. Pakistan's two important wickets of Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi came off run outs. If any of both players would have stayed on the crease till the end, result would be quite different. Especially, Shahid Afridi's run-out was the turning point of the game.

The man who really put the reverse into swing. Waqar Younis bucked the 1980s trend of pitching fast and short by pitching fast and full. Not an obvious recipe for success until you factor in prodigious late inswing, which was designed to smash into the base of leg stump or the batsman's toes. In his youth, he was one of the fastest ever. Waqar's surging run was a glorious sight - and an incredible strain on his body. His method of aiming for the stumps rather than the batsman earned him the best strike rate of any bowler with over 200 Test wickets. It could have been better: back injuries cut short his prime, but determination has always resurrected him, although he was easily pushed over the line that divides aggression and intimidation. He looked to have been put out to pasture by the end of 2000, but before long he had been appointed captain for the 2001 tour to England. Initial results suggested that this was an inspired move, but in October 2002 he was at the helm as Pakistan crumbled to 59 and 53 all out against Australia in Sharjah. He managed to retain the job for the World Cup, but a disastrous tournament - Pakistan beat only Holland and Namibia - meant an unceremonious exit. Unable to force his way back into a side building for the future, he announced his retirement in April 2004. As a batsman, lusty blows were his staple, but Waqar batted with the air of a man who thinks he could have done better.

Sri Lanka level series to gain first win on tour.

The Sri Lankan openers got their team off to a slow but steady start at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. After Upul Tharanga received a revival, he played steadily to get to a patient fifty and finishing with 77 as Afridi got his second wicket. Kumar Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal failed to really get off and propel the innings as Sri Lanka wandered aimlessly until the 27th over when Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga steered them to a decent 235 run after the 50 overs. The Batting Powerplay proved to be quite fruitful for Sri Lanka yielding 48 run at the loss of no wickets. Afridi and Ajmal were the pick of the bowlers as they got 5 wickets between them to give Pakistan a chance at going 2-0 up. 

Pakistan's reply got off to a bad start as Mohammad Hafeez was caught behind off the third ball in the innings. Lasith Malinga then struck again in the same over and left Pakistan reeling as Younis Khan also edged behind to a leaping Sangakkara. Imran Farhat was soon to follow as Thisara Perera removed him in the thrid over. Then came Umar Akmal, after being recalled into the squad after the Test series. He started to builld a steady partnership with Misbah-ul-Haq as the Captain got to 21 before he was lbw to Dilhara Fernando. Abdul Razzaq was promoted up the order but an unnecessary attempted run lead to him being run-out. Umar Akmal then threatened to win the match for the home team but after hitting a hat-trick of fours, he attempeted to clear mid-on and failed as Chandimal grasped a good catch. Sarfraz Ahmed ended his stay at the wicket after being adjudged lbw off Malinga. Even though Hawk-eye suggested the low full toss was going down leg-side, he was on his way and Pakistan were collapsing to a defeat. Shahid Afridi showed glimpses of his old ‘boom boom’ nature but he was run out and that sealed Pakistan’s fate as they lost to the visitors by 25 runs.