Hamstring 'not a problem' - Murali

A

Muttiah Muralitharan took four wickets despite struggling with his hamstring against New Zealand © AFP Enlarge

will use the gap between Sri Lanka's last group match and their quarter-final to rest and recover from the hamstring trouble he faced during the game in Mumbai.

"He [Murali] banged his knee and got bruising on it and a slight hamstring niggle," Kumar Sangakkara said. "In the next few days we got to pay as much attention as we can to Murali's injury and get him on his feet for the next game. Going back to Sri Lanka for him is going to be important in that sense."

Murali, who will retire after the World Cup, said the injury wouldn't hinder his participation in the rest of the tournament. "I have been carrying this hamstring injury for some time and it's not a problem. I am prepared to play the rest of the matches because I am retiring after the World Cup."

Muralitharan hurt his knee as he dived to avoid getting run out and was limping during New Zealand's chase, leaving the field twice to receive treatment. He returned and virtually bowled on one leg during a spell of 4 for 25, which helped Sri Lanka win by 112 runs.

"Murali did a pretty okay job bowling off one leg and getting us all those wickets. He bowled beautifully," said Sangakkara. "Murali's done it before with an injury in Australia and he nearly won us a game there. Here it was something special, it shows how hungry he is to play and do we