CT 2017: It is about doing less mistakes and being positive, says Angelo Mathews

Team Sri Lanka have had a very shaky start to their preparations for the upcoming edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. In their first warm-up game against Australia, they were beaten by the Aussies in a closely fought game. Prior to that, they were stunned by Scotland in one of the practice game fixtures. Despite the two losses, skipper Angelo Mathews still believes his side can turn the tables in the mega event.

After the conclusion of the first warm-up game against Australia, Angelo Mathews reflected back at the game. He noted that the conditions were tough to bat on. Despite that, the likes of Chamara Kapugedara and Asela Gunaratne did really well for them in the match. Mathews was good with the bat too and had missed out on the century by just five runs.

“The wicket was a bit juicy early on, it was tough conditions to bat on, but I thought the batters [did] really well. (Chamara) Kapugedera, and Asela Gunaratne put up a really good partnership with myself, so it was a good batting performance,” said Angelo Mathews as per the quotes in icc-cricket.com.

He further added that the wicket turned out to be a flat one as the match progressed. He praised the efforts of the bowlers as well. Sri Lanka had managed to scalp 8 wickets in the match and did not succumb meekly to the Aussie batters.

“Once again it was nice and flat when the bowlers were bowling, so it was a good challenge for us. I thought the bowlers bowled brilliantly as well,” quoted Mathews.

On Asela Gunaratne

Talking about Asela Gunaratne, the skipper was all praise for the 31-year old all-rounder. While most batsmen scored runs with a strike rate less than 100, Gunaratne hammered 70 off just 56 balls in the match. In the recent times, he has been one of the biggest finds for the Sri Lankan team.

“He’s just an unbelievable player. He hasn’t played a lot of international cricket, but he’s very well-equipped. He’s played a lot of domestic games. He’s a wily old campaigner for us. We look forward to having him in the team and expect him to do well,” quoted Angelo Mathews.

Winning Mantra

Lastly, he opined that it all boils down to the team that commits fewer mistakes on the day. He noted that the ones who do less mistake and stay positive, emerge out as the eventual winners in the game. “The team who does less mistakes on that particular day comes out winners, and that’s what we’re looking to do: less mistakes and try and be positive,” he added further.