COLOMBO: Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara hopes fit-again spinner Muttiah Muralitharan rises to the challenge of a World Cup quarterfinal against England Saturday. Sangakkara said the 38-year-old off-spinner, who will retire from international cricket after the tournament, was fully fit for the R. Premadasa stadium clash. Muralitharan, who has a world record of 530 one-day wickets, injured his hamstring during Sri Lanka's impressive 112-run win over New Zealand last week, but has since recovered. The wily off-spinner is the only survivor of Sri Lanka's historic five-wicket win over England in the 1996 quarterfinal — one of Sri Lanka's two wins over its opponent in eight World Cup matches. Muralitharan took two wickets in that match in Faisalabad before Sri Lanka went on to capture its only World Cup title. “Muralitharan is a hundred percent fit. He is a guy who rises to the occasion and we are confident about what he can do for us in this crucial match,” said Sangakkara Friday. Sangakkara refused to believe that the pressure will only be on Sri Lanka, playing before a packed 35,000 crowd. “I don't think the pressure will only be on us. All sides feel the intensity and pressure of a big match with the incentive of a semifinal place involved,” said Sangakkara, whose team finished runner-up to Australia in 2007 World Cup held in the Caribbean. Sangakkara said England has proven its worth in the group stages. “England is one of the best sides and they have proven it in the tournament so expect nothing less than their best,” said Sangakkara, praising England's batting and bowling. In Jonathan Trott (336 runs) and captain Andrew Strauss (329), England has two quality batsmen but its bowling has been a weak link. The Ashes winner, which has yet to win the World Cup, opened the tournament with a tied match against India, lost to both Ireland and Bangladesh but still beat South Africa to qualify for the last eight. With Graeme Swann (12 wickets) and James Tredwell, who took a match-winning four wickets in the decisive Group B win over the West Indies, England has two quality spinners. “If we do progress in this tournament, we've got to be a lot better than we have been. We're not going to hide from that,” said Strauss. England has suffered a stream of injuries in the tournament having seen ace batsman Kevin Pietersen (hernia), pacemen Stuart Broad (side strain) and Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring) forced out. All-rounder Michael Yardy then pulled out due to depression, forcing England to bring in leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who won't make it from the Caribbean, where he has been touring with the England second-string, in time for the match. England will also hope Tim Bresnen recovers fully from a calf niggle. If not, medium pacer Jade Dernbach, flown in as replacement earlier this week, could get a chance. Strauss shrugged off Yardy's withdrawal Friday, saying his players were all focused on Saturday's match. “It's not difficult to focus our minds on this game of cricket,” said Strauss. “It's a must-win game. It's a one-off event. If we lose, we are on the plane home. If we win, we are in the World Cup semifinal. “Sri Lanka are a good side with a lot of attacking options both with bat and ball and they are obviously on their home patch,” Strauss said. “It's going to be a significant challenge for us. The key, like it always is, to get your nose in front of the game and the pressure is big. We are very excited about the challenge. At this stage there is nothing to lose.” The winner of Sri Lanka-England quarterfinal will meet the winner of the South Africa-New Zealand clash in the first semifinal in Colombo on March 29.
