Jaipur: Pakistan, reeling under the pressure of controversy, face Sri Lanka in their first match of the Champions trophy at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium today.
Surprisingly, Sri Lanka, who had to qualify to clinch a place among the top eight, seem to be the favourites.
With two of their strike bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, banned for failing a drugs test, Pakistan will be fielding a weak bowling attack.
Their batting also looks shaky with Inzamam-Ul-Haq serving out a ban for bringing the game to disrepute at the Oval.
In short, Pakistan could be the most badly prepared team for the tournament.
Sri Lanka are easily the most well prepared team with convincing victories recorded in the qualifiers.
Their thrashing of the West Indies in the final qualifying game was proof of their strength and preparation.
Level of support
Sri Lanka are on a roll now and to stop them would require a tremendous team effort from their opponents. Unfortunately, Pakistan are a divided house with skipper Younis Khan refusing the captaincy and then reverting his decision.
Many of the Pakistan players, especially the seniors, are not pleased with recent happenings. Under Inzamam, the team has fought as a unit. But Khan has not been able to garner the same level of support from his players.
The Pakistan Cricket Board is in turmoil especially after chairman Shaharyar Khan quit the position. There are many in the board that are scheming to evict coach Bob Woolmer, who was Shaharyar's appointment.
Woolmer, considered to be one of the finest coaches in the world, has not been able to focus on the players, nor has he been able to get the players to focus on the game.
On the other hand, Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody has moulded his team into a winning unit by instilling tremendous confidence in his players.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya and newcomer Upul Tharanga are scoring heavily. They have been backed by bowlers Farveez Mahroof, Chaminda Vaas and the world's highest wicket taker, Muttiah Muralitharan.
It's not going to be easy to crack such a strong combination.
