SA V SL 2020: Injured Dhananjaya de Silva ruled out of series with a thigh strain

Sri Lankan all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva, who retired hurt on day one of the first Test against South Africa at Centurion, has been ruled out for the rest of the series with a thigh strain.

A tweet from ICC confirmed that Dhananjaya de Silva won't take any further part in the series against South Africa. The ICC tweet read:

"Dhananjaya de Silva has been ruled out of the #SAvSL series with a thigh strain.

The Sri Lanka batsman, who retired hurt on 79 on Saturday, is expected to be sidelined for two weeks."

Coming into bat at number five, Dhananjaya de Silva retired hurt after playing a fine hand of 79 from 106 balls, a knock featuring 11 fours and a six.

JUST IN: Dhananjaya de Silva has been ruled out of the #SAvSL series with a thigh strain.The Sri Lanka batsman, who retired hurt on 79 on Saturday, is expected to be sidelined for two weeks. pic.twitter.com/ImpQWoQrS5

— ICC (@ICC) December 27, 2020

Having taken a single, the all-rounder appeared in severe pain, and could not continue his innings. According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, Sri Lankan batsman Dinesh Chandimal told host broadcasters SuperSport:

"Straight after his injury, he (Dhananjaya de Silva) said to me that it was a strain. He's going to the MRI [scan] now. He thinks he can't play for two to three weeks. So that is the thinking, anyway. We'll see how the MRI goes, and hopefully he'll recover soon. He batted outstandingly, really well, so credit goes to him as well.”

Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal rescue Sri Lanka after poor start

When Dhananjaya de Silva walked into bat, Sri Lanka were struggling at 54 for 3. He and Chandimal, however, took the team to 185 without any further trouble when the duo were separated owing to Dhananjaya de Silva’s injury.

Chandimal went on to score 85 from 161 balls with the aid of 11 fours. He looked set for a Test hundred when he was dismissed by Wiaan Mulder, edging one that bounced more than expected.

Stumps, day oneThe tourists have batted well and end on 340/6 thanks to fifties from Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva 👏 #SAvSL SCORECARD ▶️ https://t.co/5jzy9lhScF pic.twitter.com/H3yIV7GGjF

— ICC (@ICC) December 26, 2020

Niroshan Dickwella, who replaced the injured Dhananjaya de Silva, contributed an important 49 before he too fell to Mulder. At stumps on Day 1, Sri Lanka had progressed to an impressive 340 for 6.

Earlier, opting to bat first, Sri Lanka lost skipper Dimuth Karunaratne for a quick 22 from 20 balls as he chopped one from Lungi Ngidi onto the stumps. Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis also failed, scoring 16 and 12, respectively.