Angelo Mathews rues a collective failure after loss to India

For the second time in succession, Angelo Mathews tried to strike the right balance between ruing Sri Lanka's plight and putting up a brave face. In the absence of Lasith Malinga, the responsibility has fallen on Mathews's shoulders to guide the Sri Lankan team. But with losses against Bangladesh and India, Sri Lanka are now in a dicey spot in the Asia Cup.It doesn't bode well that they are just not performing up to the mark with the World T20 around the corner. Sri Lanka are defending champions of both tournaments but this team looks a far cry from the one two years ago. Mathews had a stroke of deja vu as he fielded questions from the press after the loss against India.
"I am repeating myself every day," he remarked wryly before placing the emphasis on the seniors to start performing. "We have the team we have, we are depending on a handful of seniors most of the time. If the seniors fail, we are in a spot of bother most of the time. Especially in a tournament like the Asia Cup and the World Cup, you need a lot of seniors in the team. Unfortunately we haven't clicked," he said.
But Mathews was also quick to point out that the entire blame couldn't be heaped upon just a handful of experienced men. "It will take a little time for the younger guys to start performing. We have to be patient, but this is not the right time to be patient," he said and later remarked, "I think firstly that it's not just the seniors who have to perform. Selectors have picked a squad and everyone has to perform. This is a big stage and no one is here to learn. This is a stage where you have to perform. You can't rely on a handful of seniors."
Sri Lanka lost by five wickets on Tuesday (March 1) with India chasing down the target of 139 quite comfortably in the end. This despite Nuwan Kulasekara picking up the openers cheaply. "I initially thought we had a challenging score on the board, but once the dew came in, it was hard for the bowlers, the ball stopped swinging after the first few overs, it stopped gripping and it was tough for the spinners," said Mathews.
It didn't help Sri Lanka that a decision from the umpire went against their way. Thisara Perera was teeing off towards the end of their innings before he was adjudged stumped by the on-field umpire. Replays suggested that Perera had in fact made his ground but in what is now a rare instance, the third umpire wasn't called for to make a decision. India eventually chased down the target with four balls to spare but it was left to anyone to conclude if a few extra runs could have made a difference.
"You want to put me on the spot," laughed Mathews when a question about the decision was raised in the press conference, but was also quick to add a few politically correct sentences that wouldn't require him to face the wrath of the match referee. That is the last thing Sri Lanka would want at this stage. "It's a human error. I think we all make mistakes. Take it and move on. But if you have the technology you can use it," he quipped.
Apart from the injury to Malinga, one other key factor that has dented Sri Lankas's chances is the lack of runs from senior member and opener Tillakaratne Dilshan. He has had scores of 27, 12 and 18 today. The problem has been the conversion of starts and with Sri Lanka possessing a fairly brittle middle-order, the emphasis on Dilshan to take up a leading role grows.
"I think everybody hits a rough patch, and he (Dilshan) has had a few rough patches here and there, and his last few innings were not very bad. We all need to take responsibility. Not just the seniors. The selectors and the captain have picked a squad, which they think is good. And so we have to try and go out there with who we have in the squad. We need to have faith in them and move forward.
"We all know Dilshan has been a great servant of Sri Lankan cricket for a long time, and I don't think this is the time to make that massive change. It's whatever the selectors and the captain thinks, I am just the stand-in captain. I don't really know what the selectors and the captain are thinking. But I think we have to be patient and hope the batting line-up fires in the next game," said Mathews.
He couldn't help but clutch at the positives gained from the game. Runs from Chamara Kapugedera was one but Mathews also focussed on an overall improvement shown on the batting front. "I thought our approach was good, our intent was to score runs. We didn't want to hang in there, we didn't need to think we needed to bat till the 16-17th over. We knew if one of us got going, we'd score 160-170. You can't really think the next person will score runs for you. You have to be prepared and positive," he said.
Mathews didn't hide the fact that Sri Lanka are up against the wall. He even grudgingly admired his opponents and wished that Sri Lanka had a settled team just like India. "It's quite damaging, especially (to) the confidence level and the morale. You can't keep losing, it's difficult to digest. We haven't played our best yet and the most worrying thing is that we haven't clicked as a batting order. So close to the World Cup, we have to connect the dots together and maybe try a few combinations. But all we have is what we have at the moment. We just have to be positive. But I kind of sensed a positive approach in our batting today and that's how we have to play. Just be positive and hope the batting order clicks.
"Indians have been playing really good cricket in the past couple of years. They have been patient and sticking to a squad they thought was going to be their team for the World Cup and stuck with it. That's what you've got to do, stick with a team and be patient. Be patient with whoever you pick without chopping and changing too much, especially before the Asia Cup and World Cup. You have to be ready to go. You have to chop and change and check combinations before," he said.