CARDIFF - Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and elected to field against Sri Lanka in a must-win Champions Trophy Group B match for both sides at Cardiff on Monday.
This game had become a virtual quarter-final, with the winners joining already qualified title-holders India out of Group B in the last four of a tournament featuring the world's top eight one-day international sides and the losers knocked out.
An overcast morning and a green tinged-pitch offer the promise of assistance for Pakistan's pacemen, although the ball has not generally swung early on during matches in this tournament.
Both teams made one change from their previous games.
Dhananjaya de Silva came straight into the Sri Lanka side after being called up as a replacement for Kusal Perera, who suffered a tournament-ending hamstring injury while batting in a shock win over India at the Oval on Thursday.
Meanwhile Pakistan opted to play an extra seamer in Fahim Ashraf instead of leg-spinner Shadab Khan in the only change to the side that beat South Africa by 19 runs in a rain-affected clash at Edgbaston last Wednesday.
Whichever side won this match was, barring an extraordinarily lopsided result, likely to face England in a semi-final in Cardiff on Wednesday.
Teams
Pakistan:
Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt/wkt), Imad Wasim, Fahim Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan
Sri Lanka:
Niroshan Dickwella (wkt), Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews (capt), Asela Gunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep
Umpires:
Bruce Oxenford (AUS), Marais Erasmus (RSA)
TV umpire:
Chris Gaffaney (NZL)
Match referee:
Chris Broad (PAK)