2017 ICC Champions Trophy: No One Really Expected Us To Win – Angelo Mathews

Nov 2, 2023 at 3:44 PM

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2017 ICC Champions Trophy: No One Really Expected Us To Win – Angelo Mathews

Sri Lanka’s knack of producing brilliant performances in the ICC tournaments was at its best on Thursday (June 8), as the island nation fought against all the odds to stun defending champions India and keep their Champions Trophy hopes alive.

Sri Lanka had endured a poor run of form of late including a heavy defeat in their tournament opener against South Africa while two of their key players were also missing from the match. Chamara Kapugedera was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury while opening batsman Upul Tharanga is serving a two-match ban imposed on him for the slow over-rate against South Africa.

However, neither of these setbacks affected Sri Lanka’s attitude, as they chased down a daunting 321 to open their account.

The poor form in the recent times, meanwhile, have seen Sri Lanka’s captain Angelo Mathews and coach Graham Ford facing severe criticism.

Sri Lanka Cricket President Thilanga Sumathipala had openly slammed Ford after the team’s slow over rate resulted in Tharanga’s ban for a couple of games. And the captain-coach duo could have faced further criticism if their decision of sending pinch-hitter Kusal Perera ahead of Dinesh Chandimal at No. 4 following the end of a magnificent 159-run stand for the second wicket had failed.

However, the hard-hitting batsman justified the decision, scoring a 44-ball 47 to put Sri Lanka on the brink of victory before being forced to retire hurt.

Speaking after the historic win, Mathews admitted that the captain and coach are always targetted for the team’s failures but sounded pleased after Perera’s promotion paid off.

“It’s always the coach and the captain under the firing line. Today, once again, Kusal Perera’s call was also crucial. As a captain, I had to send him, and there would have been a few bullets fired at me if it hadn’t gone too well. But that’s what we are there for, to take crucial decisions at crucial times, and it doesn’t matter if it fails,” Mathews said.

After the big 96-runs loss against South Africa in the opening game, Sri Lanka needed to win the game against India at all cost to keep alive their hopes of making it to the next round. Sri Lanka were the underdogs in the match, something that Mathews feels worked in the favour of his team.

“This was a very important game for us. You know, no one really expected us to win. That took the pressure off us. We just went out there, expressed ourselves and you can see what we can do when we play with a lot of freedom,” Mathews said.

The result has thrown Group B wide open, as all four teams are level on two points and can make it to the last four by winning their final group games.

“We don’t want to think too far ahead. We just want to take one game at a time. Now it’s done, and we look forward to the next game. It will be the same plans, go out there, no expectations, play with a lot of freedom,” Mathews added.

The skipper also had a word of praise for opener Danushka Gunathilaka who was included in the team just one day before the game, as a replacement for the injured Kapugedera. The left-handed batsman laid the foundation for the famous victory by scoring an entertaining 76 and adding 159 runs for the second wicket with Kusal Mendis who scored 89.

“He wasn’t in our original squad. He had to step in and to open the batting against a very strong opposition and the way he batted was fantastic. Kusal Mendis and Danushka played with a lot of freedom, and that really set us a platform. It made things so much easier for the rest of the batters,” Mathews noted.

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