Angelo Mathews led the team in their illustrious 2014 Test series in England. (image: Instagram)
Mathews has played for Sri Lanka in all three formats of the game and has impressive figures. He became Sri Lanka’s youngest Test captain in 2013, when he was just 25 years old
Just two years after making his home debut, Angelo Mathews knocked on the doors of the Sri Lankan national team. Mathews was selected for the 2008 tour of Zimbabwe and the all-rounder made his debut during the fourth ODI of the series in Harare. Since then never looked back. Mathews has played for Sri Lanka in all three formats of the game and has impressive figures. He became Sri Lanka’s youngest Test captain in 2013, when he was just 25. He led the illustrious series of the 2014 Test series in England.
As he celebrates his 35th birthday today, we take a brief look at Angelo Mathews’ successful cricketing journey and some memorable performances.
- 6/20 against India, 2009
During the third match of the 2009 Compaq Cup, the pitch at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo looked nothing less than a batting paradise. The home team set a target of 308 runs but when India returned to bat, it became a difficult wicket for them to score runs. Mathews registered extraordinary figures of 6/20 as India were restricted to 168. - 160 against England, Leeds, 2014
Arguably one of the biggest milestones in Sri Lanka’s Test cricket history, the 2014 tour of England saw the best of Angelo Mathews. Batting first in the second Test at Leeds, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 257 runs. In reply, England scored 365 runs registering a lead of over 100 runs.
Sri Lanka needed a big score to save themselves in the match and the captain stepped in. From 176/4, Mathews took Sri Lanka forward, forming crucial partnerships with Mahela Jayawardene and then Rangana Herath. Mathews finished with 160 as Sri Lanka got on 457. Sri Lanka eventually won the match by 100 runs. - 139 and 2/33 v. India, 2014
Sri Lanka were a nightmare of a series against India in 2014. The visiting team had lost the first four ODIs and the last match was also tilted against them before captain Angelo Mathews batted.
Talking of his team ahead of 73/3, Mathews scored an unbeaten 139 as Lanka finished on 286 while batting first. He then returned to take on both the Indian openers and gave his team a real chance at the game. Although the match ultimately went in favor of the Indian side, Mathews was adjudged the Player of the Match for his all-round performance. - 200 vs Zimbabwe
Mathews scored his maiden double century in Tests against Zimbabwe in 2020. During the first Test of Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa, Mathews batted for more than a day to score his double century, and Sri Lanka scored 515 in reply to Zimbabwe’s 358. Ultimately the visiting team won the match by 10 wickets. - 199 vs Bangladesh, 2022
What could have been Angelo Mathews’ second Test double century, which was reduced to 199 by Bangladesh’s Naeem Hasan. Sri Lanka’s batting was excellent. Mathew formed important partnerships and contributed 199 to Sri Lanka’s total of 397. The match ended in a draw.
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