Dinesh Chandimal carried on batting after being struck on the thumb

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Sri Lanka have been dealt a major blow as batsman Dinesh Chandimal has been ruled out for the remainder of the ongoing ODI series against India with a fractured thumb.

Chandimal sustained the injury after being struck on the right thumb by a bouncer from India all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the third ODI in Pallekele on Sunday.

Chandimal was on 25 when he was hit, but after getting his thumb strapped up, he continued batting and went on to make 36 before being dismissed by Pandya.

The 27-year-old will now speak to a specialist in Colombo before a timeline for his return is determined.

Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne had been called up to the ODI side for the last three matches of the series after opener Danushka Gunathilaka suffered a shoulder injury and captain Upul Tharanga was handed a two-game suspension for maintaining a slow over-rate in the second ODI.

This is the second time Chandimal has sustained a finger injury in the past 12 months as he missed Sri Lanka’s tour of Zimbabwe in October and November due to “multiple dislocations around the right thumb area”, which he underwent surgery for.

While Chandimal was unable to push on after getting off to an encouraging start, the same cannot be said about Thirimanne as he took full advantage of his opportunity and scored a superb 80.

Despite his efforts with the bat, he received little support from the rest of his teammates and Sri Lanka eventually succumbed to a six-wicket defeat.

Sri Lankan fans in attendance were extremely frustrated with their side’s performance that when India were eight runs away from victory, play was suspended for 35 minutes as they threw plastic bottles onto the field.

With India having won the third ODI, they have hold an unassailable 3-0 series lead going into the final two ODIs, which will both be held in Colombo on August 31 and September 3 respectively.