Atapattu splits webbing of left hand

Marvan Atapattu - has a problem getting hand in glove © AFP

Marvan Atapattu, Sri Lanka's opening batsman, split the webbing on his left hand while catching Gareth Batty, and may not bat in Sri Lanka's reply. Atapattu left the field immediately after sustaining the injury in Thursday's evening session, and had four stitches inserted between his index and middle fingers.

On Friday morning, Atapattu was unable to insert his left hand into his batting glove and Kumar Sangakkara, the usual No. 3, opened the innings in his absence. Sri Lanka are hopeful that Atapattu will recover quickly, but were unsure as to whether he will be able to bat in the first innings.

"At this stage, we are unsure," said Ajit Jayasekera, the team manager. "It will his decision as to whether he can bat or not, but at this stage he can't put his hand in his glove."