SL play down Mathews fitness concerns

Friday, 13 March 2015 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Achilles pain prevented Angelo Mathews from bowling for the first time in tournament – Getty Images ESPNCricinfo: Sri Lanka have played down concerns about Angelo Mathews’ Achilles pain, and said that Rangana Herath is likely to be fit for the quarter-final in Sydney on 18 March. Mathews left the field early on in Scotland’s innings in the match at Hobart, and was not seen again until the presentation. Vice-captain Lahiru Thirimanne said Mathews had not gone for a scan on Wednesday night, but suggested he may do so on Thursday. Mathews had felt the pain during his innings of 51. He did not bowl, for the first time in the tournament. “He’s strapped up at the moment, but hopefully he’ll be okay,” Thirimanne said after the match. The stitches on Herath’s spinning finger are due to be removed on Thursday, and he is expected to resume bowling in the nets on Friday. Sri Lanka have flown in offspinner Tharindu Kaushal as cover for Herath, but a replacement is unlikely to be necessary, Thirimanne said. “I think he has about an 80% chance of playing in the quarter final. I feel he will be fit,” Thirimanne said. Mathews is the sixth Sri Lanka player to fall under an injury cloud in the tournament. Seamer Dhammika Prasad, legspinning allrounder Jeevan Mendis and batsmen Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal have all had to be replaced, after sustaining World Cup-ending injuries, while Herath is the other man to miss matches thanks to the cut on his finger. “We have been in Australia and New Zealand for three months now,” Thirimanne said. “We have to manage our bowlers very carefully, because it’s a very long tour. We have hopefully another three matches left. So we need to have the best combination, and we need to manage our bowlers carefully at training over the next five to six days.”

Sanga and stats

A stats analysis of the match between Scotland and Sri Lanka in Hobart

4 Number of consecutive hundreds scored by Kumar Sangakkara, the first batsman to do so in ODI history. Six batsmen have previously scored hundreds in three successive ODIs. 1 Sangakkara is the only batsman to score four hundreds in a single World Cup. Mark Waugh, Matthew Hayden and Sourav Ganguly have scored three hundreds each in the World Cup, while no other batsman has scored more than two. 14 Wickets taken by Scotland’s Josh Davey in this World Cup, the most by a bowler so far. Trent Boult and Tim Southee are next on the list, with 13 wickets each. 22 Wides bowled by Davey, the most by any bowler in this edition. Mohammed Shami and Tendai Chatara have bowled 16 wides each. 195 The second-wicket partnership between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sangakkara, the third highest for Sri Lanka in World Cups. Sri Lanka’s top three second-wicket stands in World Cups have all come during the 2015 edition, including two partnerships of 200-plus runs each. 1025 Runs scored by Sangakkara across all formats in 2015, the most by any batsman. He is the first player to score 1000-plus international runs in 2015. Kane Williamson is in second place with 900 runs. 5 Number of World Cup hundreds for Sangakkara. Sachin Tendulkar, with six hundreds, is the only batsman with more World Cup centuries. Ricky Ponting also has five hundreds in the tournament. 20 Number of deliveries Angelo Mathews took to reach his fifty – the fastest by a Sri Lanka batsman in World Cups and second-fastest for Sri Lanka in ODIs. Sanath Jayasuriya’s 17-ball fifty against Pakistan in 1996 is the fastest ODI fifty for Sri Lanka. 54 Number of dismissals for Sangakkara in World Cup matches, the most for any wicketkeeper. Adam Gilchrist has 52 dismissals while Brendon McCullum has 32. 148 Sri Lanka’s margin of victory in this game. This is Sri Lanka’s eighth World Cup win with a margin of 100-plus runs. This is also Scotland’s second-biggest loss in World Cups. 2038 Runs scored by Sangakkara in Australia, making him the third overseas batsman to score 2000-plus ODI runs in the country. The two other visiting batsmen to make 2000-plus runs in Australia are Desmond Haynes (3067) and Viv Richards (2769).