Pakistan search for a right combination

An unstable part of Pakistan's team - their opening combination - has become more uncertain with the dropping of Kamran Akmal, who has partnered Salman Butt in recent matches. Sarfraz, Akmal's replacement, is no opener and, though his batting skills may not match Akmal's, his role of lower-order batsman is secondary to his primary job of keeping wicket.

Hong Kong, on the other hand, will use this match against Pakistan, and the next against India, to get a feel of what it's like to mix with the big boys. They will use this platform as prep for their next tournament, the Asian Cricket Council Trophy, where they compete against opposition of more or less equal strength. Their last one-day internationals were in the 2004 Asia Cup, when they lost to Pakistan and Bangladesh by a margin of more than 100 runs.