Kumar Sangakkara reveals how Angelo Mathews' absence from 2011 WC final hurt Sri Lanka

Former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara revealed that Angelo Mathews' absence from the playing XI in the World Cup final against India in 2011 hurt the side's chances of winning the summit clash. In a conversation with Indian spin wizard Ravichandran Ashwin, Kumar Sangakkara recounted the heartbreak in the finals of the World Cup that saw India lift the trophy after 28 long years. Angelo Mathews, who played a key role in getting Sri Lanka past the semi-final against New Zealand, was ruled out of the summit clash due to quadriceps muscle injury. 

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'That's the biggest thing I look back...'

Kumar Sangakkara said that Mathews' injury forced him to change the team's combination in the finals to six batsmen and five bowlers, and revealed that it was the reason behind him opting to bat first. The former skipper said that changing the side's combination at such a crucial juncture of the tournament had hurt Sri Lanka's chances and other incidents including drop catches were all just part and parcel of the game. Kumar Sangakkara said that Mathews' presence in the playing XI would have added depth to their batting and that Sri Lanka would have definitely opted to chase had the all-rounder been fit for the finals. 

"If you take our entire campaign, whatever we did Mathews' overs and 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", Kumar Sangakkara said in conversation with Ashwin. 

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The 2011 World Cup final

Sri Lanka who were playing in their second straight World Cup final had posted a stiff total of 274/6 in their 50 overs. In reply, India got off to a horrendous start after big-hitter Virender Sehwag was dismissed for a second-ball duck by Lasith Malinga. The Men In Blue were in a spot of bother after Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal as the scorecard read 31/2. Gambhir then took the charge of scoring runs and was ably supported by a young Virat Kohli (35) as the duo added 83 runs for the third wicket stand.

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After Kohli's dismissal, in a rather surprising move, MS Dhoni came out at number four ahead of an in-form Yuvraj Singh. The two were then involved in a 109-run fourth-wicket stand. Gautam Gambhir was castled by Thisara Perera for a 122-ball 97. However, it did not matter as the match was in India's grasp by then and MS Dhoni finished it in style by dispatching Nuwan Kulasekara into the stands as India won their second World Cup after a long wait of 28 years.

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