Mathews fit for India-Sri Lanka series decider

Sri Lanka has been boosted by the news Angelo Mathews has recovered from cramps and will be fine to face India in Sunday's ODI decider.

Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews scored an unbeaten 111 in a losing cause against India on Wednesday.

For the Sri Lankans, desperately looking to finish off the Indian tour on a high by clinching the three-match one-day series (scores tied one-all) when they take on India in this Port City on Sunday, there was welcome news as seasoned all-rounder Angelo Mathews was declared fit for the decider.

Lankan manager Asanka Gurusinha informed media on Friday, after the team had a full-length training session in the morning at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium here, that Mathews is fit and will play the decider.

READ: Rohit double flattens Lanka, levels series 1-1

It may be recalled here that there were clear signs of discomfort for Mathews in the second one-dayer when he scored his second ODI century at Mohali.

The presence of 30-year-old Mathews, who has been in and out of the Lankan team in the last one year or so because of injuries, is vital for the Lankans determined to prove a point or two after the drubbing it received in Mohali after outplaying India in the first ODI at Dharamshala.

The injury worries are not uncommon for the star Sri Lankan all-rounder as his workload attributes to the same - 194 ODIs in just nine years after making his debut in 2008 besides playing 72 Tests scoring 4,914 runs at an average of 44.27. With eight centuries and 28 fifties with the bat, Mathews doubles up as a key bowler with crucial breakthroughs for his team.

That Mathews is a force to reckon with even in Indian conditions was already pretty much evident with his impressive opening spells with the new ball in this series (bowled a miserly 4-1-9-0 in Dharamshala and 5-2-8-1 in Mohali) besides hitting that valiant century in Mohali which paled into insignificance thanks to Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s third ODI double century.

Importantly, Mathews had a full training session along with the other members of the team on Friday – bowling and batting – to the delight of his camp.

In fact, Gurusinha reminded that it is not just Mathews who is fit but the entire 15-member squad also.

The Indian team which was scheduled to train in the evening cancelled the session.