Jamshedpur, March 18: It is more Sachin Tendulkar, the news that he will not play the entire Pepsi Triangular series, that has grabbed the attention of cricket aficionados, than the series opener between Pakistan and Sri Lanka which will be held here tomorrow.The tournament, dubbed as part of the preparation for the ensuing World Cup, received a crushing blow with the Tendulkar news. The tie between the 1992 champions and 1996 winners too lost some of its sheen with the absence of crowd puller Sanath Jayasuriya, recovering from a wrist injury.Fresh from their crushing win in the Asian Test Championship, followed by a massive 152-run victory over Bangladesh in a limited over match, the Wasim Akram brigade is raring to go. The team preferred to stay overnight in Calcutta on their way to Jamshedpur and arrived here late today afternoon, while the Lankans landed a couple of hours earlier. Both teams had nets in the evening.Akram happy with batsmen's form:Pakistan skipper Akram was mighty happyhis two key batsmen - Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq, who slammed a double century each at Dhaka - have struck form at the right time. He hoped their form extend to the limited version.Should that happen, the Lankans will have a hard time at the lush green Keenan Stadium. The track is expected to be batsman-friendly, as it has been in the past, and a run-feast is on the cards provided the team batting first survives the effects of early morning moisture.When Pakistan played here last time - 12 years ago - they chased a total of 265 with ridiculous ease, cantering home with 5.4 overs to spare. Later, in 1996, New Zealand too scored 237 for the loss of just two wickets to humiliate the hosts. Incidentally, for the first time the Keenan Stadium is staging a match without the home team.Acid test for Lanka:It is possibly the only tournament Lanka have before the World Cup. They seem to possess neither enough ammunition to rock a strong Pakistani batting nor look equipped enough, save Aravindade Silva, to negotiate the likes of Akram and Shoaib Akthar. Jayasuriya's partner Rumesh Kaluwitharana too is out of this tournament due to fatigue. Prasanna Jayawardene, who was in India with the Lankan youth team, has replaced the exuberant Kalu, but he is unlikely to play tomorrow. Hashan Tillekaratne is expected to don the gloves.Ironically, the experienced left-handed middle-order batsman is not part of the World Cup probables list. Sri Lanka do have a definite edge over their opponents when it comes to fielding. But the game is a great leveller and in limited overs it is a different ball game. Needless to say, Sri Lanka hope to level the scores.Wasti replaced:Both the teams preferred to announce their final XI just before the match. There is one change in the Pakistan squad that went to Dhaka. Opener Wahajatulla Wasti, who scored a century in each innings of the Lahore Test, has been replaced by speedster Abdul Razzak. Razzak did well for Pakistan `A' against India `A' at home lastyear.Teams:Pakistan (from): Wasim Akram (captain), Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Ijaz Ahmed, Yousuf Yohanna, Inzamam-ul Haq, Moin Khan, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Azhar Mahmood, Arshad Khan, Abdul Razzak and Shahid Nazir.Sri Lanka (from): Arjuna Ranatunga (captain), Aravinda De Silva (vice-capt), Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardena, Eric Upashantha, Ruwan Kalpage, Hashan Tillekaratne, Chaminda Vaas, Pramodaya Wikramasinghe, Hemantha Boteju, Russel Arnold, Chandika Hathurasinghe, Avishka Gunawardene, Upul Chandana and Prasanna Jayawardene.Umpires: Bomi Jamula and Dr SC Gupta (both India).Third umpire: Francis Gomes.Reserve umpire: LP Verma (India).Match referee: C Smith.
