Sri Lanka's confidence can soar with victory over Pakistan

Dubai - The thing about Pakistan is their variety. They have it all. Right arm pace, left-arm pace, leg-spin, off-spin, left-arm spin.

I have always admired the cricketing talent to emerge from Pakistan. This admiration for Pakistan cricket started during my first World Cup in 1992. Imran Khan captained them to a sensational win in the finals. It's amazing that someone whom I have played against has gone onto become the Prime Minister of his country.
The thing about Pakistan is their variety. They have it all. Right arm pace, left-arm pace, leg-spin, off-spin, left-arm spin. You name it, they have it. That makes them a very dangerous side. What a stunning performance they came up with the other day against England. They will have lot of confidence after that win.
One batsman who has always done well against us is Shoaib Malik. Dismissing him early will be key. Bowlers like Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir can swing and seam the ball and if the conditions are to their liking, they will be tough to face. Another player who has really impressed me is young Shadab Khan. Apart from being a crafty leg-spinner, he is also a superb fielder, one of the finest in the tournament.
We have lot of positives from the Afghanistan game. The boys believed in themselves that 187 can be defended and it was a great effort particularly from Nuwan Pradeep and Lasith Malinga. If the batsmen give the bowlers a decent total, I am sure the attack can contain any batting line-up.
I hope the batters will fire. We are playing seven batsmen and if three of them click, we should have a competitive total.
I hope they will stick to the winning combination. Usually, we don't change winning teams. There is lot of pressure on Kusal Mendis. I hope they will persevere with him. He is too good a player to fail repeatedly.
My advice to young Mendis is not to read social media and keep his head clear. Don't do anything that will put undue pressure on you.
The middle order comprising Angelo Mathews, Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva need to come up with a plan to come out on top. Rotating the strike is the key. Most batsmen got into trouble against Afghan spinners trying to play from the crease. They should use the feet as they are all good players of spin.
Dimuth Karunaratne should play the anchor role while Kusal Perera needs to go after the bowling. That is the opening combination that we should stick to. Someone playing the anchor role and someone else attacking from the other end.
I am looking forward to the game. Fingers crossed the team will peak at the right time. A win against Pakistan will do a world of good to boost our confidence.

• ICC World Cup 2020