CT 2017: There will be expectations but will focus on what we can do, Angelo Mathews

After a thoroughly convincing win over India in their previous game, team Sri Lanka find themselves in a position from wherein they have every chance of making it to the semi-final of the tournament. They have set up a virtual quarterfinal clash against Pakistan. Skipper Angelo Mathews is looking confident ahead of the marquee clash. In the post-match press conference, Mathews oozed confidence and looked calm.

He noted that they are not going to put themselves under pressure. Their approach in the game will be the same as it was in the match against India. He realizes that the expectations from the fans will surely rise but is hopeful of putting up a good show in the game against Pakistan.

“I think the two games between South Africa and India and us and Pakistan are virtually quarterfinals. We’ve just got to treat this as just another game because we know that the pressure is on obviously. And both teams will feel the pressure. So we’ve got to — you know, as we came into the Indian game, we knew that there were no expectations,” quoted Angelo Mathews.

“You know, as I said at the post-match press conference, that the pressure was not really on us, and that’s how we want to look at this game as well. Yes, there will be expectations now, but we just want to treat this just as a game and try and focus on what we have to do and what we can do,” he added.

On captaining Sri Lanka

Angelo Mathews has been leading the national side that is in a transition phase at the moment. They have lost some of the stalwarts of the game in Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Speaking about how hard the transition has been, Mathews cited that it is easier to captain a side with big names. Now, their departure has dented the team big time. But the youngsters have been stepping up in the recent times.

“Yes. As I always say, it’s very easy to captain a side when you have Sangakkaras, Mahelas, Malingas, all these guys, and the challenge began really after they retired. You know, Lasith is obviously still with us, but Sangakkara and Mahela, when they retired, it created a lot of vacuum in the team, and we had to sort of persist with the younger players and give them confidence,” said Mathews.

On team morale

Heading into the game, Angelo Mathews stressed that the long term planning is not something that they are doing at the moment. They are keen on living the moment and taking one game at a time. At present, the entire focus is on the game against Pakistan. There is absolutely no room for complacency since the defeat will result in direct ouster.

“We are not going — we are not trying to get too far ahead. We just want to take one game at a time. We’re not thinking about the semifinal as of now. We’re just taking on Pakistan tomorrow. We’ve got to play really good cricket to beat them, and we all know that they’re a very dangerous team. And they can play really good cricket on the day as well and beat any team. So we are not — you know, there’s no room for complacency in this kind of tournament. We have to be on top to beat them,” conceded the Sri Lankan skipper.

On injuries and replacements

Recently, reports had surfaced about Thisara Perera getting injured during a practice session. Angelo Mathews gave an update on him saying that the all-rounder is fit and feeling good. “He’s fine. He just got hit on the head, but he’s fine. He’s feeling very good. He’s okay,” he quoted.

Earlier, after the match against India, Sri Lankan batsman Kusal Perera was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament due to a hamstring injury. Angelo Mathews remarked that it is a shame to lose Kusal this way. However, he looked very content with the replacement.

Dhananjaya de Silva was the replacement on board in the stand-by list of the Sri Lankan squad. Mathews also credited the Sri Lanka Cricket board for having a couple of extra players on board with the squad. He feels Dhananjaya will hit the straps rightaway after making it to the squad.

“It’s a shame to lose Kusal. He batted extremely well. Given the fact that he was — we brought him as the third opener, but he can bat in the middle as well. So he’s always that player who can bat anywhere in the batting lineup. So that gives us a lot of options. Yeah, unfortunate that he’s gone back, but Dhananjaya de Silva is also a very good player, and we had to bring him to the squad because we are left with only seven batters at the moment,” said Mathews.

“Yeah, I think the credit should go to SLC on that because they themselves told that we — you know, it’s better off to take 17, train with the squad, and acclimatize, just in case something happens, an injury or something, and that really paid off because, you know, he just had to walk in the day before the game. He just knew that he was going to play, and he just had to walk in — because he was very familiar with the conditions,” Angelo Mathews conceded.