Shiv shakes off illness
Published:Sunday | February 6, 2011 | 12:00 AM
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CMC):Veteran left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul is set to return to the West Indies line-up for the third and final one-day international against Sri Lanka today.
The 36-year-old missed the second game on Thursday through illness as West Indies crashed to an eight-wicket loss at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
Coach Ottis Gibson said Chanderpaul's presence would be a tremendous boost for the side as it went in search of a series-equalling victory.
"It will be great to have Shiv back in the team. He is a big plus as our most experienced batter and someone we can rely on," Gibson said yesterday.
"He had a bit of the flu and missed the last game but he's 100 per cent now and we welcome him back into the team. He is someone who is the glue in our middle order. If he gets in he is difficult to get out and we expect him to show that."
With Chanderpaul missing, the West Indies batting crumbled for a disappointing 203 in the last ODI, a total Sri Lanka easily overhauled to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The experienced Guyanese has played 262 ODIs in a 16-year career and is the most seasoned campaigner in the squad. He has scored 8661 runs at an average of nearly 42.