Angelo Mathews’ absence real turning point in 2011 World Cup final, rues Kumar Sangakkara

Ahead of the final against India in the 2011 World Cup, Sri Lanka were dealt a blow, with all-rounder Angelo Mathews injuring himself in the semi-final against New Zealand. Mathews, who had averaged 31 with the bat and picked six wickets with the ball, had been integral to the Lankans and the balance of their side throughout the tournament and his injury meant that the team had to draft in Chamara Kapugedara, who had played only one game in the tournament prior to the final. Eventually, Kapugedara was dismissed for just one run and India convincingly beat the Lankans to lift their first World Cup title in 28 years. 

Reflecting on the final, Kumar Sangakkara, who led Sri Lanka in the final against India in 2011, said that in retrospect, it was Mathews’ injury which had ended up costing the Lankans big time. Sangakkara stated that Mathews’ absence upset Sri Lanka’s balance, something that was evident from their display in the final.

"In that World Cup final, that's (Angelo Mathews injury) the biggest thing I look back at You can talk about the drop catches and all that but the fact that we were forced to make that change was the real turning point in our strategy," Sangakkara was quoted as saying by India Today.

"Because that balance of Mathews at 7 If you look at whatever we did, Mathews' overs and his ability to bat with the tail and read situations was an incredible bonus to us.

"And the fact that with Angelo's injury, we played a 6-5 combination. All these factors working in. 100 percent, if Angelo had been fit, I know we would have chased. I don't know whether the result would have changed but absolutely (would have chosen to chase).”

Confusion ensued in the final even before the first ball was bowled, as misunderstanding between the two skippers meant that the coin toss had to be done twice. Sangakkara, reflecting on the confusion at the toss, revealed that it was Indian skipper MS Dhoni who had, in fact, requested for a re-toss. Eventually, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat, but the former Lankan skipper admitted that perhaps things could have gone his team’s way had India won the toss.

"I remember calling on the toss. And then, Mahi wasn't sure what I had called. He said 'Did you call tails?'. I said 'No, I called tails'.

"And then the match referee actually said I won the toss. Mahi actually said 'no, no, no, he didn't' There was a little bit of confusion. Mahi said let's have another toss of the coin. And that's when the second one went about.

"I am not sure whether it was luck that I won. Probably, if I had lost the toss, maybe India might have batted. We would have chased. Maybe Maybe. Because of the dew and we played New Zealand at the Wankhede and our spinners really went through. We defended a total. We weren't really sure.”