Sri Lanka has gained the upper hand in the first Test as they trail India by just seven runs at stumps on Day three. India was bowled out for 172 in the first innings, and Sri Lanka finished day three at 165/4 Thirimanne, and Angelo Matthews scored impressive fifties but fell just after crossing the milestone. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav picked up two wickets each.
Mattews played an impressive 52 runs innings and added 99 runs with Lahiru Thirimanne for the third wicket. Mattews lost his wicket, while an expansive cover drive and was caught at the cover of the bowling of Umesh Yadav. After the day’s play, Matthews said that he tried to keep the scoreboard ticking but could have avoided the shot.
He said:
“I don’t think there was lapse of concentration. I was looking to score runs,” he said. “It’s just that it stopped a little bit, but no excuse. I should have left it alone, maybe. I was looking to score runs. You can’t hang in there forever. On this wicket you will get a good ball and you tend to get out. All in all it’s about runs. You have got to score runs. It won’t be pretty. You can’t be fluent on this wicket. You have got to grind and try and score runs.”
Indian fast bowlers Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, bowled great spells in tandem and Matthews called them ‘World Class’:
“They keep coming at you, You can’t relax. If you see, the loose balls were very few. As I said, they are top-class bowlers. Credit to Thirimanne for the way he played. But 50s won’t take us anywhere. We need to try and score hundreds on this wicket.”
Talking about his return from injury he said:
“It has been a quite a frustrating year for me with injuries, going in and out of the side, It’s not easy, you know, when you don’t have the same rhythm. I had a good three years of cricket from 2013 onwards; I guess it’s taking a toll on my body.”
“I have to manage my workload. It comes with experience as well. I have played a few more games than the rest of the boys. You have got to prepare mentally but you know it is not going to be easy here. India is a fantastic team and you have to be on the top of the game to compete against them.”