Angelo Mathews: lack of expectation helped
Between landing in England for the Champions Trophy and its game against India on Thursday, Sri Lanka had lost to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. There was also a loss to Scotland in preparation for the tournament.
In the last 12 months before the India game, Sri Lanka managed only seven wins from 26 games. The last time Sri Lanka met India in One-Day Internationals, it was whitewashed 5-0 in 2014.
It was easy to see why, in Angelo Mathews’s own words, no one expected Sri Lanka to beat India. Mathews’s men brushed aside expectations and predictions though, with a remarkable display of ‘playing with freedom’ – a theme the captain has reiterated in press interactions through the tournament.
“It was a very important game for us. You know, no one really expected us to win,” he said. “That took a lot of pressure off ourselves, and we just went out there and expressed ourselves. You can see what we can do when we play with a lot of freedom.”
Sri Lanka tried a similar approach against South Africa too, but fell on the wrong side of the thin line between aggressive and rash. On Thursday, the batsmen found that to perfection. It was largely thanks to a brilliant 159-run stand for the second wicket between Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis.
Gunathilaka made it into the squad only after an injury to Chamara Kapugedera on the eve of the match. Mendis sought out Kumar Sangakkara for tips ahead of the game.
Together, they took the attack to India throughout their partnership and never allowed the bowlers to settle down, scoring boundaries all over and also using the shorter boundary smartly.
They also targeted bowlers, taking the only spinner in Ravindra Jadeja out of the attack to shift the pressure completely on India. It was an improvement from the previous game against South Africa, when Sri Lanka threw the game away after a strong start, allowing Imran Tahir to pick up four wickets in the middle overs.
In all, 86 of the 159 runs they added came in boundaries, telling a story about their ‘free’ approach.
“To walk into a game knowing that he wasn't even in the 15, knowing Kapugedera got injured yesterday and he had to step in and open the batting against a very strong opposition, it was fantastic the way he batted,” said Mathews, who himself made a crucial 52 not out.
“It was very pleasing the way he batted. Kusal Mendis and Danushka played with a lot of freedom, and that really set us a platform. It would make it so much easier for myself and Kusal Perera and the middle-order batters. But don't forget Asela (Gunaratne) – that little cameo really won us the game. It was a fantastic batting effort.
“It was very hard to get away with their bowlers. We all know that they've got a brilliant attack. Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, all bowled really well, but it's just that we batted really well. It's a top effort by the batters.”
The victory will make teams take Sri Lanka more seriously – if they weren’t already – but Mathews stuck to the ‘underdogs’ theme.
“It doesn't matter if the opposition respects us. We are out to do a job, and we don't really think about what the opposition thinks,” he said. “I mean, no one really expected us to win today as well, but we knew underneath that we had the talent and we had another opportunity to beat a fantastic team, which we did.
“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. Go out there, play with a lot of freedom. You know, if we play good cricket, I'm certain that we can beat any team.”