Kolkata: Former skipper Kumar Sangakkara has said Angelo Mathews was missed badly during the 2011 50 overs World Cup final against India. All-rounder Angelo Mathews missed out on the summit clash due to an injury. India outclassed Sri Lanka in the game to win the title after a gap of 28 years.
Angelo Mathews missed
Mathews played a key role in Sri Lanka’s thrilling semifinal win against New Zealand, He was forced out of the final against India at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium by a quadriceps muscle injury.
Sangakkara who was captain of the side, said Mathews’ injury forced him to opt for a 6-5 combination. It also was the main reason behind his decision to bat first after winning the toss.
“In that WC final, that’s the biggest thing I look back and think… You can talk about drop catches and all of that happens. Two factors contributed to the loss. The composition of the side was the first factor. Secondly we were forced to make the changes. Those were the turning points,” Sangakkara said. He was interacting with India off-spinner Ravi Ashwin in the latest episode of Instagram series ‘Reminisce with Ash’.
Century in vain
Mahela Jayawardene’s unbeaten 103 went in vain. India hunted down 275 with Gautam Gambhir setting up the chase with a 97-run knock. Skipper MS Dhoni finished off the game in style, smashing Nuwan Kulasekara for the winning six in his unbeaten 91.
“But for 100 per cent, if Angelo (Mathews) had been fit, I know for sure we would have gone for chasing. I’m not sure whether the result would have changed. That balance of team that Mathews would give at No. 7 really was a bonus,” the former wicketkeeper-batsman said
“If you take our entire campaign, whatever Mathews did was good for the team. The overs he bowled, his ability to bat with the tail and read situations was an incredible bonus to us. He was a young chap who came into the side and from day one he could read situations. It’s just instinct, how to up the rate, how to control the bowler, when to accelerate,” Sangakkara added.
Toss controversy
During the conversation, Ashwin also asked him about the controversial toss when the coin was flipped twice. This happened amid the cacophony of the Wankhede Stadium and eventually Sangakkara elected to bat.
“The crowd was huge. It never happens in Sri Lanka. Once I had this at Eden Gardens when I could not talk to first slip. And then of course again at the Wankhede Stadium a similar episode happened. I remember calling on the toss then Mahi wasn’t sure and said did you call tail and ‘I said no I called head’. The match referee actually said I won the toss, Mahi (Dhoni) said he did not. There was a little bit of confusion there and Mahi said let’s have another toss of the coin and heads went up again,” informed Sangakkara.
“I am not sure whether it was luck that I won. I believe probably India might have batted if I had lost,” he added.
Title wait continues
The loss prolonged Sri Lanka’s wait for another world title as yet again the 1996 champions failed in the final hurdle. They had lost in the 2007 final also to Australia.
“Whether we win or lose, we have this equilibrium on how to take a win or loss. The smile hides a huge amount of sadness, of disappointment. We always thought of 20 million people back in Sri Lanka who had been waiting for this for so long, since 1996. We had an opportunity in 2011, opportunity in 2007, then T20 opportunities in 2009 and 2012,” Sangakkara said.
Agencies
