[Watch] Kusal Mendis gets early reprieve as Imam-ul-Haq drops easy catch in PAK vs SL 2023 World Cup match
Pakistan fielders once again disappointed in their 2023 World Cup match, this time against Sri Lanka at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday, October 10. Imam-ul-Haq dropped an easy catch to provide Kusal Mendis an early reprieve.
The incident took place in the seventh over of Sri Lanka’s innings. Shaheen Afridi bowled a full-length ball outside off-stump. Mendis, who was batting on 18 (18), played a square drive that went straight to Imam at the backward point. The fielder dropped an easy chance.
Watch the video below:
Mendis, who scored 76 runs against South Africa in their opening game, grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The left-handed batter recently slammed 158* against Afghanistan in the warmup game.
At the time of writing, Sri Lanka were 166/2 after 23 overs with Mendis (79 off 55) and Sadeera Samarawickarama (28 off 19) at the crease.
“Their fielding historically has never been up to the mark” – Former Sri Lanka coach on Pakistan's weakness in World Cup
Former Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore recently pointed out Pakistan’s poor fielding in international cricket. He recently told WION:
"Their fielding historically has never been up to the mark. They have been guilty of some bad pictures of fielding. That department of the game can improve surely.”
As far as the match is concerned, Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and chose to bat. They made a solitary change as extra spinner Maheesh Theekshana replaced Kasun Rajitha. They are coming off the back of a 102-run loss against South Africa in their World Cup opener.
Pakistan, on the other hand, dropped Fakhar Zaman, who made way for Abdullah Shafique. The Men in Green. Babar Azam and Co. recently beat the Netherlands by 81 runs in their opening World Cup game.
Follow PAK vs SL 2023 World Cup live score updates here.