On the eve of Sri Lanka’s ICC Champions Trophy 2017 match against India, skipper Angelo Mathews came up with some wholesome praise for Indian bowling, saying, “They’re one of the best in the world”, adding that they’ve “got a good balance of spin and pace”.
In response to a question that the focus this time was more on India’s bowling than their batting, which has traditionally been their strength, the skipper said, “If you talk about India, the batting lineup has always put teams under pressure. This bowling lineup is quite different. They’re one of the best in the world. You get a good balance of spin and pace, and they’re all different to each other, and they’ve got a fantastic bowling attack.”
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But Mathews hoped that his team would stand up to the challenge and give a good account on Thursday, though he added that his players will have to put in some serious work in their batting. “For the batters, it will be hard work, especially on this greenish wicket, but we’re just hoping for a good performance tomorrow.”
Sri Lanka have been hit by injury to middle-order batsman Chamara Kapugedera and Mathews said that he could be replaced with Danushka. “He just got injured at training, so we sent him for an MRI scan. We are waiting for the doctor’s report. If need be, we might have to bring in a replacement, which is Danushka.”
{{/usCountry}}Sri Lanka have been hit by injury to middle-order batsman Chamara Kapugedera and Mathews said that he could be replaced with Danushka. “He just got injured at training, so we sent him for an MRI scan. We are waiting for the doctor’s report. If need be, we might have to bring in a replacement, which is Danushka.”
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Mathews himself might not be able to bowl on the morrow after picking up an ankle injury in England. Asked if it would affect the balance of the side, given that he bowls at crucial junctures, the skipper conceded that is will upset the balance “a bit”. “If I could bowl my 10 overs, unfortunately, I mean, I’m okay to play as a batsman but not as a bowler. So we have to think about it -- we have to come up with some other plans to try and cope with the Indian batting lineup. But yes, this is what we’ve got, and we’ll definitely use the resources that we’ve got at the moment.”