The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Injury-hit Lanka meets Pakistan

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Friday, Mar 17, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

Injury-hit Lanka meets Pakistan

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan cricket team, affected by injuries to three key players, meets Pakistan for the first of three limited-overs matches on Friday, which will also decide if the 1996 World Cup winner will avoid playing in the preliminary round of the ICC Champions Trophy.

Prolific batsman Sanath Jayasuriya and seamers Chaminda Vaas and Ruchira Perera have been ruled out of the three-match series, weakening the home team ahead of the match.

``Fridays first match is the start of the final battle among sides to avoid playing in the preliminary round of the ICC Champions Trophy, later this year in India,'' the International Cricket Council said in a statement made available in Colombo.

The risk factor

Sides in positions seven to 10 on the ICC limited-overs championship table on April 1 will face the risk of playing in the qualification rounds. The other countries are the West Indies, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka can overtake sixth-placed England with a 2-1 series win over Pakistan but even then it could still slip back to seventh spot if England wins at least one of its two matches against India that take place before the April cut-off date. A 3-0 series win for Sri Lanka will guarantee it a top six place but would also bring Pakistan into the equation as it could find itself in the seventh slot if England wins one of those two clashes against India.

``If (Pakistan captain) Inzamam-ul-Haq's side beats its host 2-1 then Sri Lanka will drop to 106 rating points and will need to rely on India winning both the matches against England to jump back to sixth spot,'' the ICC statement said. ``And in a further potential scenario, a 3-0 win for Pakistan will condemn Sri Lanka to the preliminary round no matter what happens in the India-England matches,'' said the statement.

Sri Lanka's fitness problem may pose a serious threat to the team's aspirations.

``Vaas has got a side injury and Sanath had a thigh problem which he aggravated when running on Wednesday. Ruchira has a hamstring problem which he also has been having for some time,'' Sri Lanka team manager Micheal Tissera said earlier.

In and out

Jayasuriya, has been in and out of the National team because of injuries in recent years. Vaas and Perera had been rested for the just concluded limited-overs and Test series against Bangladesh.

Left-handed opening batsman Jehan Mubarak, fast bowlers Lasith Malinga and Dhammika Prasad have been called in to replace the injured Sri Lanka players, Tissera said. — AP

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