CT 2017: Angelo Mathews hails 'king' Sangakkara after stunning win over India

Team Sri Lanka is in a happy place at the moment. A few days ago, nobody gave them a chance in the Champions Trophy. Now, they find themselves only a win away from the semi-final berth. Skipper Angelo Mathews is very happy with the way things have fared up for them thus far. They stunned India by 7 wickets in their most recent game. It was a superlative knock from Kusal Mendis, assisted by fine fifties from Mathews and Danushka Gunathilaka that set up the big win.

Talking about the game in the post-match press conference, Angelo Mathews credited the boys for having played well. When asked about the influence they have had from the senior players, Mathews cited that Kumar Sangakkara has been the one guiding them. Sangakkara, post his retirement, has been plundering runs in the English County Championships.

Mathews cited that Mendis had visited Sangakkara and had taken a few tips. All players in the team look up to him for inspiration. “Yeah, he met Kumar Sangakkara to get a few batting tips, and he’s the king, and we all look up to him. We all get advice from him, all the batters. He taught us a lot of good things on how to play on these tracks. Yesterday the guys met him and took a lot of advice and went out there and implemented it,” quoted Angelo Mathews.

On crowd support

When asked about the atmosphere at the venue, Mathews remarked that it was like a World Cup final with the majority section backing the Indian team. He thanked the handful of Sri Lankan supporters at the venue for the big game.

“It was like playing a World Cup Final. It was so noisy and a great atmosphere. We all know that all the Indians travel, and they’re right behind their team. I must thank all the Sri Lankan supporters that came out here. Even though it was little numbers, it was fantastic support for us. We really thank all of them,”