Category Uncategorized

تحدث سيد عبد الحفيظ مدير الكرة السابق بالنادي الأهلي، عن تغيير موعد إقامة مباراة المارد الأحمر أمام صن داونز، كما علق على طاقم تحكيم المواجهة.

ويلتقي الأهلي مع صن داونز، في الثالثة عصر غداً الأحد، في إطار منافسات ذهاب دور نصف نهائي دوري السوبر الإفريقي بجنوب إفريقيا.

وقال عبد الحفيظ خلال تصريحات على “قناة أبو ظبي” الرياضية: “تغيير موعد المباراة من السابعة إلى الثالثة (لخبطة) من القائمين على المسابقة، أمر ليس له تفسير، فريق يلعب كل مبارياته في توقيت معين ما عدا أمام الأهلي وفرق شمال إفريقيا سواء الترجي أو الوداد، لعبوا أمام بترو أتلتيكو الساعة 7 في نفس البطولة”.

وأضاف: “هذه بطولة جديدة وبالتأكيد تُفضل أن يشاهدها أكبر عدد، أي منطق أن تقام الساعة 3 ظهرًا، هذا من الناحية التسويقية خطأ، واستمرارًا (للخبطة في الاتحاد الإفريقي)، الكاف لو يريد أن يجعل المباريات الساعة الثانية ظهرًا أو في أي توقيت سيفعل ذلك”.

وعن طاقم التحكيم، أوضح: “أريد شخص واحد فقط من الاتحاد الإفريقي يقول لي لماذا تم اختيار هذا الحكم، عندما يتم اختيار شخص لمكان معين، يكون بناءً على الثقة، تخيل أن هذا الحكم أدار لقاء أو لقائين على مستوى دوري الأبطال في الأدوار التمهيدية لموسم 2021”.

طالع | الأهلي يواجه صن داونز في مهمة ثأرية بـ نصف نهائي دوري السوبر الإفريقي

وواصل: “من الممكن أن يكون حكماً جيداً، لكن الموسم الماضي لماذا لم يأخذ أي مباراة في دور ربع نهائي دوري الأبطال أو الكونفدرالية، هل يعطوه إدارة نصف نهائي دوري السوبر الإفريقي! أخشى من هذا القرار وأتمنى أن يخيب ظني”.

ومن المقرر أن يلتقي الأهلي مع صن داونز مجدداً بجولة الإياب لدور قبل النهائي من دوري السوبر الإفريقي، يوم الأربعاء المقبل 1 نوفمبر، في القاهرة.

كاف أسند إدارة مباراة الأهلي وصن داونز في ذهاب دوري السوبر الإفريقي، إلي الحكم البنيني لويس ديجيندو.

Half-centuries from Charles Amini and Vani Morea revived a flagging Papua New Guinea innings to ensure they won their debut ODI in Townsville

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPapua New Guinea made a bright entrance to ODI cricket•ICC

Half-centuries from Charles Amini and Vani Morea revived a flagging Papua New Guinea innings to ensure they won their debut ODI in Townsville. They had been 76 for 5 in the 17th over against Hong Kong, who could not push their advantage any further and the target of 203 was achieved with 10 overs to spare.Amini was the aggressor and displayed a range of strokes, including a left-handed helicopter shot that skimmed to the long-on boundary and a controlled straight drive to reach his fifty off only 53 balls. Morea was happy to be circumspect at the other end, but he did hit belt a six off Nadeem Ahmed in the 37th over. Their partnership accounted for 91 runs and left a patchy start behind them. Papua New Guinea’s top order had been brisk, they had made 67 runs by the 13th over but had lost three wickets in the process. The wobble was furthered with seamer Irfan Ahmed picking up two wickets in two overs.Jamie Atkinson, the Hong Kong captain, might have envisioned a victory, especially after he had held the batting together with an 79-ball 59. His team had slumped around him to be 98 for 6 before No. 8 Aizaz Khan struck 42 off 62 balls and No. 9 Haseeb Amjad contributed 35 off 38 to help eat up as much of their full quota as possible. Amini, though, would not let them have that consolation as his 2 for 29 helped finish the tail off.”I’m over the moon, I’m speechless,” Amini said. “After Vani got out I told myself I have to pass the score. I’m proud of the achievement so far, that’s one out of two. We want to make it two out of two tomorrow.”PNG coach and former New Zealand offspinner Dipak Patel was delighted with his team’s effort. “I look back at some of the great victories I’ve been a part of and it brings back a lot of memories,” Patel said. “This is totally different as a coach as you have different emotions but I’m just so pleased for the guys. They’ve worked particularly hard over the last two or three months and we’ve changed a lot. At times they’ve sort of looked at me sideways asking me where I was coming from, but today they summed it up and it was a great team effort.”

ScorecardJanneman Malan fought hard for South Africa•Getty Images

Hanco Olivier and Janneman Malan battled back for South Africa on day three to leave England with work still to do to win the second Youth Test at Wantage Road.The tourists needed a strong response to their first-innings embarrassment and proved what they are capable of with a solid day of batting. They still trail England by a sizeable 81 but, with six wickets in hand and a horrendous forecast for day four, South Africa gave themselves every chance to salvage a draw.Olivier led the way, shrugging off the possibility of a king pair to make an unbeaten 79, and eating up 239 balls in the process. He and Malan occupied more than 50 overs of the day, adding 109 for the third wicket – very steady but valuable progress for his side.Malan fell for 55 and England brought themselves right back into the game with another wicket five overs later but South Africa captain Sibonelo Makhanya ensured his side enter the final day in solid shape by taking the stand between him and Olivier to the close.England’s bowlers were made to work far harder than in the first innings and it wasn’t until the 19th over that they struck, with Will Rhodes bowling Ryan Rickelton for 5. Josh Shaw made it two down 10 overs later but it was then a hard slog until Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood struck in quick succession towards the end of the day to revive England hopes of victory.

Anil Roberts, Trinidad and Tobago’s sports minister, has urged the WICB to rethink its decision to rule Sunil Narine out of consideration for the Test series against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2014Anil Roberts, Trinidad and Tobago’s sports minister, has urged the WICB to rethink its decision to rule Sunil Narine out of consideration for the Test series against New Zealand, which starts in Jamaica on June 8. Set a June 1 deadline to join West Indies’ pre-series camp, Narine chose to stay on in India and represent Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL final.In a letter to WICB president Dave Cameron, Roberts said Narine’s decision did not flout the board’s stated “West Indies first” policy.”I put it to you today that allowing Sunil Narine to participate in the final of the IPL on June 1 as a West Indian, as a “Trinbagonian”, as an ambassador of Caribbean brilliance and then ensuring that he arrives at the West Indian training camp post haste does not, will not, and cannot breach any of the tenets of your “country first policy”,” Roberts wrote.”In fact, this addendum to the policy which may serve Sunil Narine today, will serve Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons, Krishmar Santokie and any other great West Indies Cricketers in the future.”Mr. Narine is not on holiday with his family, he is not shopping, and he is not viewing the NBA Playoffs. He is plying his professional trade in what stands as the epitome of international quality cricket in the world today.”He is plying that trade not for himself but for the people of the Caribbean who will turn on their TV sets and tune in with 1.3 billion people across the globe to support the West Indian Sunil Narine.”Playing the IPL final, Roberts argued, would be the best way for Narine to prepare for the Test series.”Therefore, for us to ask any player to forego the opportunity to grasp greatness to attend the first few days of a training camp is itself in breach of the very policy that it is designed to uphold, for there can be no greater preparation or training, than plying your trade at peak adrenalin, peak emotional levels, peak risk factors, peak psychological levels,” Roberts wrote.”He will face peak global scrutiny against the peak global performers in a final to be crowned the best in the world. Sunil Narine, on 1st June, will be at his peak performance level.”So on the contrary, Mr. Sunil Narine, by clawing and fighting his way into the final is in fact ahead of the curve as compared to his other West Indies team mates in terms of preparation for the upcoming home series.”Excluding Narine from the squad, Roberts said, would hurt West Indies’ chances of winning the Test series.”Dear Sir, our beloved West Indies team … has been unable over the past decade to take twenty wickets in five days on a consistent basis. This in essence is what is needed to win a Test match,” Roberts wrote.”To achieve this, a globally respected strike bowler is required. Sunil Narine fits this bill to a “T” and is now arguably the number one bowler in the world. He is also still regarded as a mystery spinner, who the best in the world have been unable to figure out, even in this age of modern technology and systematic analysis.”The inclusion of Sunil Narine increases the chances of the West Indies team of taking 20 wickets in five days to win a Test match.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Em meio à pressão depois da eliminação na Copa do Brasil, a sexta-feira foi de duas notícias positivas no São Paulo. O meia-atacante Marcos Calazans, contratado do Fluminense, regularizou sua documentação e já está relacionado para o jogo diante do Cruzeiro, no domingo, no Pacaembu. A partida pode marcar ainda a volta do volante Luan, que voltou a treinar com o elenco.

No fim da tarde, confirmou-se a expectativa da liberação de Calazans com a publicação de seu nome no Boletim Informativo Diário (BID) da CBF. O meia-atacante tem treinado com o elenco e o São Paulo antecipou o anúncio dos relacionados para informar que ele estará, ao menos, no banco de reservas.

RelacionadasSão PauloCuca pede apoio à torcida e fala em título: ‘Estou em dívida e vou pagar’São Paulo31/05/2019São PauloCuca pede desculpa aos jogadores por ter falado em reformulação no elencoSão Paulo31/05/2019São PauloPressionado, Raí segue no São Paulo e ‘repreende’ Cuca por expor jogadoresSão Paulo31/05/2019

Em seu Twitter, o São Paulo anunciou que Calazans está relacionado. Veja:

Calazans foi regularizado no BID, da CBF, e será relacionado pelo técnico Cuca para o duelo com o Cruzeiro no próximo domingo (2), às 16h, no Pacaembu, pelo Campeonato Brasileiro. pic.twitter.com/hzjR6l94KS

— São Paulo FC (@SaoPauloFC) 31 de maio de 2019

Na atividade, quem gerou ânimo foi Luan. O volante tornou-se desfalque nas duas últimas partidas do Tricolor porque não tinha se recuperado de pancada no tornozelo direito. Mas trabalhou sem aparentar qualquer incômodo na tarde desta sexta-feira, ao lado dos colegas de elenco. Pode voltar a ficar à disposição de Cuca para o compromisso do fim de semana.

O treinamento desta sexta-feira, o primeiro na capital paulista após a derrota para o Bahia, na quarta-feira, em Salvador, começou com uma conversa de cerca de dez minutos de Cuca com o elenco. Depois, os jogadores foram divididos em dois grupos: os titulares em Salvador se exercitaram fisicamente,, enquanto realizouatividade técnica em campo reduzido.

Os trabalhos foram acompanhados de perto pelo presidente Carlos Augusto de Barros e Silva, o diretor executivo de futebol Raí e o superintendente de relações institucionais Diego Lugano. Nesta sexta-feira, houve uma reunião dos dirigentes com Cuca, repreendido por ter exposto os jogadores ao falar em reformulação na entrevista coletiva depois do jogo de quarta-feira. Em entrevista coletiva, o treinador pediu desculpas públicas ao elenco.

​Eliminado das oitavas de final da Copa do Brasil depois de perder duas vezes do Bahia e com três derrotas consecutivas (levou 1 a 0 do Corinthians, no domingo, em Itaquera), o São Paulo volta a campo no domingo, às 16h, contra o Cruzeiro, no Pacaembu, pela sétima rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. O time ocupa a quarta colocação do torneio, com 11 pontos em 15 possíveis.

تقام اليوم السبت 5-8-2023، أولى مواجهات دور ربع النهائي للبطولة العربية “كأس الملك سلمان” المقامة بالسعودية.

تأهل إلى دور الـ 8 كل من الهلال والاتحاد والشباب والنصر السعوديين، والرجاء المغربي والوحدة الإماراتي والسد القطري والشرطة العراقي.

وتلعب اليوم، مواجهتان في دور ربع النهائي، الأولي بين الشرطة العراقي والسد القطري، والثانية سعودية خالصة وقمة قوية بين اتحاد جدة والهلال.

وتقام اليوم، عدة مباريات ودية، يعد أبرزها مانشستر يونايتد مع لانس، والمهاجم المصري مصطفى محمد يخوض مواجهة ودية مع فريقه نانت الفرنسي أمام كولن.

مواعيد مباريات اليوم السبت والقنوات الناقلة: مباريات البطولة العربية اليوم:

السد القطري × الشرطة العراقي، تنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة 6 بتوقيت مصر والسعودية وتنقل على قناة SSC Extra 1، كما تنقل أيضًا على باقة الرياضة بتطبيق شاهد وجهاز GOBX.

اتحاد جدة × الهلال، تقام في تمام الساعة 9 بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتذاع على قناتي SSC1 و SSC5 ، كما تنقل أيضًا على باقة الرياضة بتطبيق شاهد وجهاز GOBX.

اقرأ أيضًا.. نونو سانتو يعلن موقف عبد الرزاق حمد الله وفابينيو من مباراة اتحاد جدة والهلال مباريات ودية اليوم:

مانشستر يونايتد × لانس، تقام في تمام الساعة 2:45 عصراً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتذاع عبر القناة الرسمية للنادي الإنجليزي (MUTV HD).

أندرلخت فرانكفورت × نوتينجهام، تلعب في تمام الساعة 4:30 بتوقيت مصر والسعودية.

إيفرتون × سبورتنج لشبونة، تقام المباراة في تمام الساعة 5 بتوقيت مصر والسعودية.

نيوكاسل × فيورنتينا، تقام المباراة في تمام الساعة 5:30 بتوقيت مصر والسعودية.

نانت × كولن، تقام المباراة في تمام الساعة 7 بتوقيت مصر والسعودية.

فالنسيا × أستون فيلا، تقام المباراة في تمام الساعة 10بتوقيت مصر والسعودية.

يمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنا

كشف محمد غرابة مدير منتخب مصر، موقف الجهاز الفني للفراعنة بقيادة البرتغالي روي فيتوريا، من ضم حسين الشحات لاعب الأهلي إلي قائمة الفراعنة خلال الفترة القادمة، بعد واقعة تعديه على ظهير بيراميدز محمد الشيبي.

وكان الشحات دخل في مشادة مع الشيبي عقب نهاية مباراة الأهلي وبيراميدز في الدوري التي أقيمت الأحد الماضي، وصفع لاعب الأهلي الأخير على وجهه، ووقعت رابطة الأندية عقوبة على لاعب المارد الأحمر بالإضافة إلى تغريمه من قبل إدارة الأهلي نصف مليون جنيه.

وقال غرابة خلال تصريحات لبرنامج بوكس تو بوكس المذاع على قناة ETC: “لم أتحدث مع روي فيتوريا حول مشكلة حسين الشحات الأخيرة مطلقًا، والمنتخب ليس طرفًا في الأزمات الأخيرة، وهناك دائمًا (نرفزة) من اللاعبين داخل الملعب، والخطأ نقوم بتقويمه”.

وأضاف: “منتخب مصر يحتوي اللاعبين، والهدف هو إصلاح المسار لأننا نتعامل باحترافية وبأسلوب مختلف تمامًا، والمنتخب لا يتأثر بهذه الامور، ولا علاقة لذلك بوجود حسين الشحات في المنتخب، إلا حال وجود قرار من اتحاد الكرة”. طالع | ميدو: أزمة كبيرة تنتظر منتخب مصر.. وعلي معلول لا يُعوض

وفي سياق مختلف، قال غرابة: “الاتحاد لم يدفع أي أموال لمواجهة تونس الودية، نتعامل معهم بالمثل، بشأن تحمل تكاليف الإقامة، وهو عُرف سائد بين المنتخبات الإفريقية والعربية”.

ومن المقرر أن يلتقي منتخب مصر مع تونس ودياً، يوم 12 من شهر سبتمبر القادم.

وكشف غرابة أن مباراة إثيوبيا في الجولة الأخيرة من تصفيات أمم إفريقيا ستكون يوم 8 سبتمبر المقبل.

وأتم: “من الوارد ضم لاعبين من صفوف المنتخب الأولمبي خلال المعسكر المقبل، وفيتوريا يتابع كل الفئات السنية، وكنا نأمل إكمال إمام عاشور لمسيرته الاحترافية، لكن في النهاية العودة والانتقال للأهلي قراره الخاص، لكنه لاعب جيد، وأتمنى احتراف اللاعبين الصغار في أوروبا”.

تلقى البرتغالي برناردو سيلفا عرضًا مغريًا لمغادرة صفوف فريقه مانشستر سيتي الإنجليزي والانتقال إلى الدوري السعودي.

ويملك برناردو عقدًا مع مانشستر سيتي حتى يونيو 2025، إلا أنه منفتح على فكرة الرحيل وخوض تجربة احترافية جديدة.

وبحسب صحيفة “ديلي ستار” البريطانية، تلقى برناردو سيلفا عرضًا براتب هائل قدره 800 ألف جنيه إسترليني في الأسبوع للموافقة على الانتقال إلى الدوري السعودي.

ويحصل برناردو على راتب قدره 150 ألف جنيه إسترليني أسبوعيًا مع مانشستر سيتي، ويتبقى له عامان في عقده.

ويعد باريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي من الأندية المهتمة بضم برناردو سيلفا هذا الصيف، ويسعى للتفاوض مع السيتي.

وتسعى أندية السعودية لاجتذاب لاعبي أوروبا لـ الدوري السعودي، وتعزيز البطولة، وبرناردو أحد أهم أهدافهم.

وبدأ الأمر بانتقال كريستيانو رونالدو للنصر السعودي في وقت سابق خلال يناير، ثم انضم كريم بنزيما ونجولو كانتي إلى اتحاد جدة، ويقترب النصر من ضم مارسيلو بروزوفيتش من إنتر ميلان، كما تعاقد الهلال مع روبن نيفيز.

لم تفصح الصحيفة عن اسم النادي السعودي الذي قدم عرضه لسيلفا، لكن أفادت تقارير متعددة في وقت سابق أن الهلال السعودي يريد التعاقد معه.

South Africa captain AB de Villiers promised an all-out attack when South Africa take on India in the Champions Trophy opener on Thursday

Firdose Moonda in Cardiff05-Jun-2013

South Africa captain AB de Villiers promised an all-out attack when South Africa take on India in the Champions Trophy opener on Thursday. Despite a lethargic start to their stay in England, which was underlined by a six-wicket defeat to Pakistan in the warm-up on Monday, de Villiers gave an assurance that his team will up the intensity significantly when the event begins.”We’ll have to come out like a pack of wolves tomorrow and really try towards one goal and that is to win the game,” he said. “There is no room to hide in these tournaments.”De Villiers knows South Africa enter the competition with expectations high even though they may not inspire confidence in those who have tracked their progress at ICC events in the past and have followed their preparations in the build-up this time. Nevermind that they are without two of their senior-most players, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, they have the added concern of Dale Steyn’s injury and the unit’s lack of game time over the last two months.Their team camp in Holland was dampened by the wet weather and even though they breezed past the Netherlands in an ODI, they were soon brought down to earth by Pakistan. Still, its de Villiers’ job to play down the problems and deliver the fighting talk, so that’s what he did.He said there was “no reason whatsoever to be over-positive coming into England,” to dismiss thoughts that the big win over the Netherlands caused complacency against Pakistan. “The Netherlands game was just for team bowling, getting mentally in a good space,” he said.With both JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis making their returns from injury with runs in that match, it almost did not matter that South Africa did not bowl their minnow opposition out. There was reason to be positive. “Mentally we feel ready and we feel strong,” he said.Phrases like that come out because of South Africa’s reputation. If they did not crumble pressure and are not been labelled chokers, speaking about their state of mind would be unwarranted. But because South Africa are seen to have problems in that department, anyone who leads them into an ICC event has to overcompensate by turning even obvious dark spots into something shiny and bright.”The other thing that is very good is to have walked into a very good Pakistan team on a wicket that did a bit in the morning and all the bowlers had a nice work through. It was really good and it’s not a bad thing to lose those warm-up games,” de Villiers said, dispelling the theory of winning momentum. “It’s a bit of a wake up call to remind us that this is the time to go. We’re in the big tournament now, no more room for error.”Why South Africa would need any extra signposting for what they need to do at a competition like this is anyone’s guess. After 15 years of disappointments, they should know putting even a toe wrong will cause alarm back home.What may be a greater worry than their attempts at reverse-psychology in the immediate term is Steyn, especially because South Africa’s strategies seem to rely heavily on their bowlers. “We all know in England the new ball is important and in the first ten overs we have to try and get wickets,” de Villiers said. “Looking at the stats as well and the local games, they get a lot of wickets in the first 10 or 20 overs. So we’ll be trying to target that. We’ll definitely have an attacking mindset of picking up wickets early on.”Steyn’s swing would have been a trump card but it seems de Villiers will only be able to use him later on. “It’s obviously not looking good,” he said, referring to Steyn’s side-strain. “It’s sort of touch and go, but it is, obviously, an issue and something we’ll have to look at. There are a few more games coming up. It’s not the one and only game so we wouldn’t like to get him out of the rest of the tournament.” The fast bowler trained with the squad on Wednesday and a final call will only be taken in the morning.Without him there is every chance South Africa will revert to a more conservative approach, which they intend to employ with the bat anyway. After hearing news of India’s demolition of Australia at the same ground yesterday, de Villiers said that even without seeing the match, he could tell from the scorecard that the Australian batsmen, “probably didn’t respect the new ball enough in the first 10 or 15 overs.”Australia were 28 for 5 inside 10 overs and even though India also struggled upfront (they were 39 for 4), de Villiers believed they showed the “skill to adapt and assess conditions better.” South Africa have long tried to be similar cricket chameleons and while their Test side are professionals at it, their limited-overs teams can never change colours quickly enough. They went to the 2011 World Cup with three spinners to suit conditions and it still backfired on them.Because of instances like that, nothing South Africa say in the lead-up will change the overall theme of any preview about their chances. Until they win a World Cup, they will always be nearly men in this format and all they can do while they wait and hope for that to happen is keep believing like de Villiers does. “We’ll be using the experience we do have and the energy we have in team to get out there and win one game at a time and hopefully we’ll take the trophy back home.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the third ODI in Pallekele

The Preview by Mohammad Isam27-Mar-2013Match factsMarch 28, Pallekele
Start time 1430 local (0900GMT)The legend of Kusal Janith Perera is gathering momentum•Associated PressBig PictureThe second-ODI washout may have disturbed the flow of the series, but for Bangladesh it has comes as a welcome opportunity. Bangladesh have never been alive in a series in Sri Lanka going into the third match, but this time they are just a win away from squaring it.They have batted well in patches, Tamim Iqbal’s century and the excellent finish from Nasir Hossain being the bright spots. But this is a big game where the three senior batsmen – Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah – need to step up. Ashraful and Mushfiqur got out in the middle of a mini-collapse in the first ODI while Mahmudullah showed signs of some form . He gave it away after tickling one to the wicketkeeper, but till that point he had batted soundly.Bowling is Bangladesh’s main worry. The pace bowlers were clobbered in a confidence-sapping outing in the first ODI. They cut down on the number of seamers in the second ODI using allrounder Ziaur Rahman as a new-ball bowler. The spinners will give them the best chance of winning, although it goes against the grain at Pallekele.For Sri Lanka, a win is of paramount importance given the circumstances surrounding the players. The team has so far fended off questions about their participation in the IPL, but it is a much talked-about issue. The only way to regain focus would be by winning the series. It is a test for captain Angelo Mathews to keep his eyes set on beating a lower-ranked side and Bangladesh’s current improvement is likely to keep them honest to the job at hand.Form guide Sri Lanka WLWWL (most recent first, completed matches only)
Bangladesh LWLLWIn the spotlightIt has not been a great tour for young Anamul Haque but he has come to the senior team with the tag of “young and hungry”. His only Test appearance was disappointing while in the first ODI, Anamul looked good in bits. Much is expected from him, especially after the century he hit in only his second ODI.The excitement surrounding Kusal Perera is bourgeoning with every shot in his repertoire. But there’s more to him than just playing like Sanath Jayasuriya. He was expected to play a long innings at some point in this series, given the triple and double hundred he struck in two of the three innings before this series.Team newsMathews didn’t hint at many changes ahead of the second ODI and he played with an unchanged line-up from the first game. It is likely to remain the same this time too.Sri Lanka (probable): 1. Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2. Kusal Janith Perera, 3. Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4. Dinesh Chandimal, 5. Lahiru Thirimanne, 6. Angelo Mathews (c), 7. Jeevan Mendis, 8. Thisara Perera, 9. Nuwan Kulasekara, 10. Sachithra Senanayake, 11. Lasith MalingaBangladesh didn’t pick a line-up that suited the Hambantota wicket for the second ODI and it is likely they would go with the team’s strength in Pallekele too. In other words, avoid the weakness (read pace bowling).Bangladesh (probable): 1. Anamul Haque, 2. Jahurul Islam, 3. Mohammad Ashraful, 4. Mushfiqur Rahim (c & wk), 5. Mahmudullah, 6. Mominul Haque, 7. Nasir Hossain, 8. Ziaur Rahman, 9. Sohag Gazi, 10. Abdur Razzak, 11. Rubel HossainPitch and conditionsThe top five ODI wicket-takers in Pallekele are pace bowlers but the Bangladesh management has expressed confidence in its strength, i.e., spin bowling. The weather for the second game of the series offers encouraging signs, but it has rained in the surrounding areas over the last few days.Stats & Trivia Among the top eight wicket-takers in Sri Lanka-Bangladesh encounters, none of them are playing in this series. Nuwan Kulasekara and Abdur Razzak have taken 14 wickets each, among the current bowlers.Tamim Iqbal’s 112 was the highest individual score for a Bangladesh batsman in Sri Lanka and the team’s 259 runs was also the highest in this country.Quotes”We can’t win the series, but at the same time, we can prevent a series loss.”

“I feel it is a good challenge for us, because we haven’t won the series yet.”