Angelo Mathews to miss out of final T20I owing to a hamstring injury

After a comprehensive victory last night in the 2nd T20I fixture, the Indian team sealed the bilateral series against Sri Lanka, defeating the Islander across every format of the game. With the final game of the three-match series set to be played at the Wankhede stadium on December 24, the Lankan’s will hope to end on a high in the dead-rubber fixture. However, a pressing issue ahead of the final fixture for the Islanders is the hamstring injury, that former skipper Angelo Mathews incurred during yesterday’s game.

The 30-year-old all-rounder was forced to return to the dressing room halfway through his third over – 12th in the Indian innings – as he suffered a grade one hamstring tear. He didn’t come out to bat either as Sri Lanka slumped to a heavy 88-run defeat in Indore. Mathews has been Sri Lanka’s best batsman on the current tour with a century in the third Test in Delhi and a hundred in the second ODI in Mohali.

Speaking on the status of Mathew’s, Sri Lanka’s team manager Asanka Gurusinha told Cricbuzz, “Angelo will not play the last game of the series. According to the physiotherapist Nirmalan Dhanabalasingham, he will be out for about two weeks.”

Mathews has been cursed with injuries for a long time

The dynamic right-hander has a long history of hamstring, calf and ankle injuries. Earlier this year, in January, Mathews was forced to return home early from their tour of South Africa. He was out for five months and when he made his return during the Champions Trophy in England, he played only as a specialist batsman.

He had also hurt his calf during training ahead of the tour of UAE for the series against Pakistan in September and was ruled out for eight weeks before he made a comeback in India.