Vaas, Randiv flying in as covers for Murali and Mathews (Second Lead)
March 31st, 2011 - 9:07 pm ICT by IANSMumbai, March 31 (IANS) Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan and Angelo Mathews are battling to be fit for the World Cup final against India here Saturday, even as seasoned seamer Chaminda Vaas and all-rounder Suraj Randiv have been roped in as their covers.
Muralitharan, who has defied a series of injuries to play through the World Cup, skipped the practice session at the Wankhede Stadium here Thursday.
Muralitharan, the world’s highest wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs, played his last match at home in the semifinal against New Zealand. He is keen to appear in the final, which will be his last ODI.
“I think his chances are good. He bowled his 10 overs in the semifinal and came through that okay. He is obviously a bit stiff and sore. He has the character and the will to win the World Cup and I will not be surprised if he plays,” Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss told newspersons here Wednesday.
The 38-year-old battled a knee injury against New Zealand in Sri Lanka’s last league match here to take four wickets. He then aggravated a quad muscle in the quarterfinal against England in Colombo, but turned out for the semifinal.
Muralitharan is Sri Lanka’ top wicket-taker in the current tournament with 15 wickets.
Mathews, who scored an unbeaten 14 in the semifinal against New Zealand in a pressure situation, sustained a right side strain while fielding during the match Tuesday.
“We will give them full time to recover,” Bayliss said.
Vaas and Randiv are expected to arrive here later Thursday.
The experienced Vaas was part of the 1996 winning team along with Muralitharan. The 37-year-old Vaas has led the Sri Lankan attack for more than a decade. He retired from Tests in 2009 with 355 wickets. He has 400 ODI wickets in 322 matches.
Vaas last played an ODI when India toured Sri Lanka in August 2008.
Randiv, who made his ODI debut in 2009, has 22 wickets from 21 matches.
- Vaas, Randiv to cover for Muralitharan, Mathews - Mar 31, 2011
- Muralitharan, Mathews battling to be fit for final (Lead) - Mar 31, 2011
- Muralitharan racing against time to be fit for semifinal - Mar 28, 2011
- Sri Lanka call-up Vaas, Randiv as cover for injured Muralidaran, Mathews - Mar 31, 2011
- Wankhede cheers for Muralitharan in his swansong match - Apr 02, 2011
- Tendulkar, Muralitharan raise the stakes - Mar 31, 2011
- Sri Lanka go in with two off-spinners, India one - Apr 02, 2011
- Muralitharan cheered by fans at his last ODI (Lead) - Apr 03, 2011
- Sangakkara asks his boys is keep it simple - Apr 01, 2011
- History beckons India, Sri Lanka at Wankhede (Preview) - Apr 01, 2011
- Muralitharan to play for Wellington next season - May 13, 2011
- Injured Muralitharan likely to miss World Cup semi-final against Black Caps - Mar 29, 2011
- Muralitharan to retire after World Cup - Jan 21, 2011
- Injury worries for India, Sri Lanka ahead of final - Apr 01, 2011
- Sri Lanka in final, World Cup to return to subcontinent after 15 years (Roundup) - Mar 30, 2011
Tags: colombo, decade, four wickets, full time, knee injury, last match, mathews, murali, muttiah muralitharan, odi debut, practice session, pressure situation, quarterfinal, sri lankan, suraj, trevor bayliss, wankhede stadium, wicket taker, winning team, world cup