SA vs SL: Dhananjaya de Silva ruled out of series due to thigh strain

Centurion [South Africa], December 27 : Sri Lanka all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva, who had suffered a "thigh strain" while batting in the first Test against South Africa, was on Sunday ruled out of the series.
The all-rounder came in to bat when Sri Lanka were in trouble at 54 for 3, but his gutsy knock had taken them to 185 with no further hiccups.
But with just half an hour to go for the tea interval on day one, De Silva retired hurt after playing a knock of 79 runs. The batsman seemed to be in severe pain after running a single and as a result, Niroshan Dickwella replaced him at the crease.
The Sri Lanka batsman has been sidelined for two weeks.
"Batsman Dhananjaya de Silva, who suffered a Thigh Strain, while batting in the 01st Test Match vs South Africa, will not be able to play for about 02 weeks. The player has sustained a grade 2 tear on his thigh," the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) tweeted.
"Straight after his injury, he said to me that it was a strain. He's going to the MRI [scan] now," Chandimal had told host broadcasters SuperSport, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
"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," he had added.
On day one, Chandimal and Dickwella played knocks of 85 and 49 respectively as Sri Lanka ended day one of the first Test against South Africa in a position of strength here at the SuperSport Park.
After opting to bat first, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera gave a flying start to the visitors as the duo put on 28 runs inside the first five overs. However, the hosts came back strongly and dismissed three wickets in quick succession reducing Sri Lanka to 54/3.
In the second session, Dhananjaya and Chandimal mixed caution with aggression and the duo took the game to the Proteas. Both batsmen took Sri Lanka's score to 185/3, but with just half an hour to go for the tea interval, Dhananjaya retired hurt after playing a knock of 79 runs.
Chandimal brought up his half-century before the end of the second session. He along with Dickwella ensured that Sri Lanka does not lose any wickets before the end of the second session and at the break, the visitors' score read 212/3.
The partnership between Chandimal and Dickwella flourished and the duo further strengthened the position of the visitors.
Finally, a breakthrough came in the 66th over as Mulder dismissed Chandimal (85). Soon after, Dickwella (49) also lost his wicket to Mulder, reducing Sri Lanka to 296/5.
Before the close of play, Sri Lanka ended up losing the wicket of Wahindu Hasranga (18). In the end, Dasun Shanaka (25*) and Kasun Rajitha (7*) ensured that the visitors do not lose any more wickets before the close of play, taking the score to 340/6.