Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathew finally had a sigh of relief after his team defeated Australia in the first Test at Pallekele to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series. The team was going through a tough phase and the win might change their fortunes on the field. After having a poor Asia Cup and World T20 campaigns, the team had a disastrous tour of England where they remained winless. Putting behind all those setbacks, the team gave an inspired performance and defeated the visitors by 106 runs.
“After a rough, tough six to eight months, we needed that victory,” Mathews said. “In that time, there was a situation where fans were turning away from us. As cricketers, we feel that because when we play well everyone loves you. Even when you lose they may love you, but they are also disappointed. The best thing was to win this match for the fans. It’s a great win for those who stayed with us, and we thank them because that support means a lot.
“In the past six months, we as a team got a lot of stick. But that’s part and parcel of the game. When we do well we get praised. When we do badly we get a bit of stick. I think we as players need to understand that.”
The Sri Lankan skipper heaped praise on Kusal Mendis, who was adjudged the man of the match for his brilliant innings of 176 in the second innings. Mathews said he had seen something special in Mendis way back in December, when Sri Lanka toured New Zealand.
“The selectors said he was really good, but I hadn’t seen him much, to be honest,” Mathews said. “Once we went to NZ I thought Kusal was pretty special as well. The way he handled himself at the top of the order – it was a couple of tough tours for him as well in New Zealand and England, where it was seaming around. You don’t always have to have a lot of experience. There can be exceptional players like him who can walk into the international scene and start performing.”
“Especially playing his first Test against Australia and their very good attack, Mendis showed a lot of class and a lot of temperament,” Mathews said. “It was not easy to bat on that wicket. It was turning rapidly and their bowlers were bowling well and fast as well. The way he played, he made it look so easy. Most of us were struggling to get runs. The way he batted, I’m very excited for the future.”
Mathews also praised his spinners for a good performance and said that they backed each other very well.
“When Rangana is bowling, he is attacking but also he contains,” Mathews said. “We needed someone like Sandakan. Unfortunately, Dilruwan didn’t bowl that well in the game, and I’m sure he’ll come back strongly. But it was very pleasing to see Sandakan bowling his googlies, and also the batsmen were finding it very tough on this wicket. He will take the confidence of this performance forward.”
Talking about the mood in the dressing room after the win, Mathews said: “The atmosphere in the dressing room has changed a lot. Even though we lost in the recent past, we’ve not given up. We always had hoped. We always helped each other. Every team goes through this transition period, and once you click, you can go a long way. That’s what we believed. We kept helping the youngsters and even the youngsters threw in their ideas. It was a collective effort from the whole team.”