Former Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews’ participation in the ongoing second Test of the series against West Indies could be limited substantially as picked up a thigh-strain on Day 2 of the rain-marred fixture in Galle.
Mathews’ injury was sustained while he tried to run across for a single in the first-innings while batting on a score of 12. Not able to resume his innings immediately, he was declared retired hurt and went on to receive treatment from the team physios and the medical team.
Nearly eight overs later, the elegant right-hand batter returned to take the field as Sri Lanka lost four further wickets with hardly enough runs on the board batting first. But the pain was still evident as Mathews was seen hobbling across for a single.
Batting now at No.10 effectively, he decided to stay within his crease and fetch as many boundaries as he could. In this process, Mathews hit a pair of sixes and a four before eventually falling for 29, with Sri Lanka ending their innings at just 204 from 61.3 overs despite opting to bat after winning the toss.
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After the change of innings, Mathews did not take the field and went through another round of extended treatment by the team physios. That is expected to be the norm with him now for the rest of the game.
Mathews will not be fielding and will bat only if he is required, stated a report in ESPNcricinfo, keeping in mind also the fact that he has a history of injuries to his hamstring, quads and calf area.
If not for the injury, Mathews was expected to bowl at some stage during the Test and allow Sri Lanka to have an extra option available up their sleeves with the new ball. But the prospect of him doing anything other than his batting seems bleak now.
Mathews had made a comeback to the international scene with the previous Test, which was also played at Galle. After failing in the first-innings, he had made a promising half-century (69*) in the second half.
