Muralitharan expected to be fit for semi-final

Monday, 28 March 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(Reuters) - Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who left the field early in the World Cup quarter-final win over England on Saturday, is expected to be fit for Tuesday’s semi-final against New Zealand.

Muralitharan, 38, who will retire from international cricket after the tournament, injured the hamstring and bruised his knee in a group match win over the New Zealanders.

“Murali is going to be okay, he pulled up stiff and you know he’s had a tough couple of weeks,” Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara told a news conference. “Hopefully we will have him 100 percent for our next game.”

Sangakkara said several of his players were tired, including Muralitharan and fast bowler Lasith Malinga.

“It is a difficult two-month period but we have to forget that,” he said. “We are playing a World Cup and we have to get ready and be prepared for anything.”

Muralitharan, the leading wicket taker in both tests and one-day cricket, took two wickets from his nine overs on Saturday and also had Eoin Morgan dropped twice in the same over.