Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 2019: 3-match ODI series – Statistical Preview

ODI cricket is set to make a comeback in Pakistan after four years as they host Sri Lanka in a 3-match ODI series starting on Friday in Karachi. Some of the visiting team players opted out of the tour owing to security concerns. As a result, Sri Lanka had to send a team without some of their big players.

They handed the captaincy to Lahiru Thirimanne for the ODI series. The clash between these two teams in the World Cup this year got abandoned. This didn’t let Pakistan extend their 7-0 record against Sri Lanka in World Cup or the Lankans to register their first win over Pakistan in the competition.

All the key stats and numbers to look out ahead of the first ODI series in Pakistan since 2015:

6 – Pakistan won each of their last six ODI matches against Sri Lanka. Last time they lost an ODI to the Lankans was in 2015 during the bilateral series hosted by the Island nation.

0.466 – Pakistan’s win-loss ratio of 0.466 in ODI cricket this year is their lowest in any calendar year where they played 20 or more matches. Pakistan won seven out of 23 ODIs they played in 2019 and lost in 15 of those while another game ended without a result. Their previous lowest was 0.5 in 1984 where they won six and lost 12 out of the 20 ODIs including two washouts.

58.33 – Babar Azam’s batting average in ODI cricket against Sri Lanka is the best among players who batted more than five innings in PAK-SL ODI matches. Babar scored 350 runs across seven innings against the Lankans with two tons and a fifty.

663 – Lahiru Thirimanne has scored 663 runs in ODIs against Pakistan; the 2nd most runs he has amassed against any side in this format. Those runs came across 17 innings at an average of 41.43 with two tons and four fifties.

946 – Babar Azam has scored 946 runs in 18 ODIs he played in 2019. He scored those at an average of 59.12 with two hundreds and six half-centuries. Babar will be the first Pakistan player with 1000+ ODI runs in a calendar year since the start of 2014.

1052 – Avishka Fernando is one of the nine players to aggregate 1000+ List A runs till date in 2019. The Sri Lanka amassed 1052 runs this year across 20 List A innings. He averages 58.44 and has scored four tons and five fifties.

1828 – Runs Fakhar Zaman has amassed in his ODI career from 44 innings. He needs 172 more runs in the next ODI innings to become the joint 2nd quickest to 2000 ODI runs. Fakhar aggregated only 245 from his last 11 ODI innings which cost him a realistic chance of becoming the 2nd fastest to 2000 ODI runs and even an outside chance of breaking Hashim Amla’s record (40 innings).

2015 – The last instance of Pakistan hosting an ODI game was in 2015 when Zimbabwe toured for a 3-match series. The last occasion of the Karachi National Stadium hosting an ODI was during Sri Lanka’s tour at the start of 2009.