Mahroof to replace Dilhara Fernando in Lanka squad for the final

Bridgetown, Barbados, Apr 26 (UNI) Farveez Maharoof will replace Dilhara Fernando as third seamer in Sri Lanka side in the cricket World Cup final against Australia here on Saturday.

Sri Lanka chief selector Ashanta De Mel, who is here to oversee the team management, announced this today.

He said the selectors were not happy with the form of Fernando who was warned twice for running on the pitch during Tuesday's semi-final win over New Zealand.

''Most probably it will be Maharoof,'' said De Mel. ''We were not satisfied with Dilhara's performance.'' Fernando's five overs also went for 45 runs, while Maharoof took 4-25 in Sri Lanka's previous game against Ireland.

De Mel also confirmed that Upul Tharanga would continue to open ahead of former skipper Marvan Atapattu, who has not played a single game in the tournament so far.

Tharanga scored 73 in the semi-final against New Zeland though he had not scored consistently so far in the showpiece event.

UNI