Rangana Herath pulls out of third Test

The struggling Sri Lankan team suffered a big setback with veteran Rangana Herath being ruled out of the third and final Test in Delhi (beginning December 2) after the left-arm spinner complained of a sore back. Herath has been replaced by leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay.

After going wicketless in the first Test in Kolkata on a green-top wicket, Herath claimed just one in the second Test here as India piled on 610/6 declared in the only innings they batted. The 39-year-old had bowled 39 overs while conceding



81 runs. When India traveled to Sri Lanka for the three Test series in July-August, Herath then also had pulled out from the third Test in Pallekele after enduring a hard time in the first two Tests, citing a similar back issue.

Sri Lanka wanted a like replacement for Herath in another left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara, but the 30-year-old failed the fitness test. Pushpakumara made his Test debut against India in the second Test at SSC in Colombo and made little impact on the Indian batsmen.