Gwalior, May 11: The Pepsi Independence Cup is only one match old. Two of the four teams in the fray, including hosts India, haven't made a start. Yet, the four-nation competition has already evoked some curious interest among cricket-crazy followers of the country.

Having lost their inaugural match to New Zealand at Mohali, Pakistan will have to make a fresh start in their second game. And, it is not going to be easy for the already depleted Pakistani team as they take on the strong Sri Lankans at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium tomorrow.

When Rameez Raja goes out with Arjuna Ranatunga for the toss tomorrow, his mind will undoubtedly be on the three straight losses his team had suffered at the hands of the Sri Lankans in the Akai-Singer Cup in Sharjah last month. Although the Pakistani skipper made a bold statement at the end of the Mohali match that all was still not lost for his team, he knows it will not be easy to make a comeback in the competition.

And, as recently as a fortnight ago, the Pakistanis struggled to save a Test match against Sri Lanka in the island where the Pakistanis played two Tests. Raja may dismiss it by saying that it would be a different ball game in the one-dayers. But, the fact remains that the Sri Lankans have had the upper hand over Pakistan in recent times.

With the terrific form that Sri Lanka's vice-captain Aravinda De Silva is in at present (Pakistanis were the victims at the recent Test series in Colombo), one could expect some dazzling batting on the batsman-friendly wicket here. With Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana to give the team a flying start, it is for the middle order to continue the good work. And, Sri Lanka have one of the most dependable middle-order. Marvin Attapattu, Roshan Mahanama, Hashan Tillekeratne and skipper Arjuna Ranatunga are among the most consistent batsmen in the shorter version of the game.

The Sri Lankan bowling attack has been ably handled by the medium pacers Chaminda Vaas and Dulip Liyanage. Muthiah Muralitharan, the off-spinner, has proved to be a match-winner for the Sri Lankans on more than one occasions. And, their fielding although not the best in comparison with New Zealand is quite adequate for the one-day game.

Sri Lankans are keen to make a positive start to the tournament by winning here. The World Cup triumph has made a lot of difference to their performance. Always a tough nut to crack, they have found the winning form since that Lahore triumph last March.

Despite Raja's claims that his team would not be unduly worried in the absence of frontline bowlers Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed, the Kiwis proved at Mohali that the Pakistani attack lacked sting.

In the opening match, the Kiwi openers went after the bowlers. And, Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana will not be any different tomorrow. Pakistan's strength in its present team lies in its batting. In Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik, Ijaz Ahmed and Moin Khan, the Pakistanis have one of the best batting line-ups for one-day cricket. The combination somehow did not click at Mohali. For Pakistan's sake, one hopes it does click tomorrow.

The Pakistani and Sri Lankan teams were keen to visit the Taj Mahal today. But they had to cancel their trip mainly because the organisers thought there was a lot of security risk involved in their travelling to the Taj.

They were told of the long journey to and fro that would make them travel-weary on the eve of the match. The team members reluctantly decided against the trip.

The security in the city, especially around the stadium, is very heavy. The city administration has sought the help of the Rapid Action Force, Black Cat commandoes and the Bomb Defusal squad to keep a check on security.

TEAMS

Pakistan (from): Rameez Raja (capt), Saeed Anwar (vice-capt), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ijaz Ahmed, Hassan Reza, Mohammed Wasim, Salim Malik, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mehmoud, Moin Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mohammed Hussain, Aaqib Javed

Sri Lanka (from): Arjuna Ranatunga (capt), Aravinda de Silva (vice-capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Ruwan Kalpage, Marvan Attapattu, Chaminda Vaas, Kumara Dharmasena, Sanjeewa de Silva, Dulip Liyanage, Upal Chandana, Muthiah Muralitharan

Umpires: S Venkataraghavan (India) and Steve Dunne (New Zealand); Third Umpire: SK Bansal (India)

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.