COLOMBO (Reuters) - The presence of Muttiah Muralitharan will provide a huge lift to the Sri Lankan team after the off-spinner was declared fit for Saturday's World Cup quarter-final showdown with England.
Twenty million Sri Lankan fans were worried they might have seen the last of the world's most prolific bowler on the international stage when he revealed he had "strained a hamstring" and could have suffered a "small tear" after injuring himself in their last group match against New Zealand.
Luckily the 38-year-old, who will retire after the World Cup, had a whole week to recover and is now raring to roll his arm against England.
"Murali is a guy who rises to the occasion and does really well in the big games," said Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. "He is fine to play and one hundred percent okay which is great for us.
"The side feels confident about what he can produce for us in important games and that's exactly the way we are going to look at it and that's exactly how we are going to try and play this game."
With the tournament now into its knockout phase, Sangakkara's men know that from Saturday onwards every match they play could turn out to be Muralitharan's last international outing. His team mates would like nothing better than to prolong his stay until the April 2 final in Mumbai.
"All the guys I am sure will feel the pressure and they will feel the (energy of the) crowd. They will lift themselves with that and do well," said Sangakkara.
"The guys will support each other and we will do our utmost to make sure that we do everything we need to win. We are very well prepared and mentally also fit."
If there is one area Sri Lanka have a weakness it has been their middle order which has not been tested properly so far.
But Sangakkara was not too concerned since his team won five of their six group matches.
"The middle order is good. They are the best players we have in Sri Lanka and some of them are equal to the best players in the world," said Sangakkara.
"It's hard to judge the middle order when they get only 10-15 overs in games. In Sri Lankan side everyone is confident and everyone trusts each other.
"Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews and Chamara Kapugedera are the best players we have to do that job. We have done it against best oppositions in the world and they will keep doing this as before."
Twenty million Sri Lankan fans were worried they might have seen the last of the world's most prolific bowler on the international stage when he revealed he had "strained a hamstring" and could have suffered a "small tear" after injuring himself in their last group match against New Zealand.
Luckily the 38-year-old, who will retire after the World Cup, had a whole week to recover and is now raring to roll his arm against England.
"Murali is a guy who rises to the occasion and does really well in the big games," said Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. "He is fine to play and one hundred percent okay which is great for us.
"The side feels confident about what he can produce for us in important games and that's exactly the way we are going to look at it and that's exactly how we are going to try and play this game."
With the tournament now into its knockout phase, Sangakkara's men know that from Saturday onwards every match they play could turn out to be Muralitharan's last international outing. His team mates would like nothing better than to prolong his stay until the April 2 final in Mumbai.
"All the guys I am sure will feel the pressure and they will feel the (energy of the) crowd. They will lift themselves with that and do well," said Sangakkara.
"The guys will support each other and we will do our utmost to make sure that we do everything we need to win. We are very well prepared and mentally also fit."
If there is one area Sri Lanka have a weakness it has been their middle order which has not been tested properly so far.
But Sangakkara was not too concerned since his team won five of their six group matches.
"The middle order is good. They are the best players we have in Sri Lanka and some of them are equal to the best players in the world," said Sangakkara.
"It's hard to judge the middle order when they get only 10-15 overs in games. In Sri Lankan side everyone is confident and everyone trusts each other.
"Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews and Chamara Kapugedera are the best players we have to do that job. We have done it against best oppositions in the world and they will keep doing this as before."
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