Pakistan will rely on their strong bowling line-up led by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal to tame Sri Lanka in the three-match Test series starting in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday. Pakistan won the preceding one-day series 3-2 on the back of penetrative bowling and strong batting,but captain Misbah-ul Haq warned that they need to be at their best to beat Sri Lanka in the Tests. Ajmal has been performing a key role for us and we hope for the best in this Test, said Misbah,who led Pakistan to a 1-1 series draw against world number one in their last Test series,in the UAE in October.We know each other well so it will be a good contest, said Misbah. We know that the Sri Lankans are good in these conditions,and with players like (Kumar) Sangakkara and (Mahela) Jayawardene,they are a dangerous side.So we need to play good cricket to win. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in the UAE in 2011,with Ajmal taking 18 wickets in three Tests while Umar Gul (14 wickets) and Junaid Khan (12) shouldered the burden of the pace attack. Despite the loss,Sangakkara scored 516 runs including a double century in Abu Dhabi. He and Jayawardene are the stalwarts of the teams batting.By contrast,Pakistans batting has been vulnerable and they were dismissed for 49 and 99 this year. But Mohammad Hafeezs return to form,and Younis Khan and Misbah will boost them. squads: Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt),Mohammad Hafeez,Ahmed Shehzad,Khurram Manzoor,Shan Masood,Azhar Ali,Asad Shafiq,Younis Khan,Adnan Akmal,Junaid Khan,Saeed Ajmal,Abdul Rehman,Umar Gul,Rahat Ali,Mohammad Talha,Bilawal Bhatti Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt),Dinesh Chandimal,Kumar Sangakkara,Mahela Jayawardene,Kaushal Silva,Dimuth Karunaratne,Lahiru Thirimanne,Prasanna Jayawardene,Nuwan Kulasekara,Suranga Lakmal,Shaminda Eranga,Nuwan Pradeep,Sachithra Senanayake,Rangana Herath,Dilruwan Perera,Vishwa Fernando.
