India’s bowling is one of the best in the world: Mathews
If you talk about India, the batting lineup has always put teams under pressure. This bowling lineup is quite different.
ANGELO MATHEWS, On the rivals
LONDON: On the eve of Sri Lanka’s match against India, skipper Angelo Mathews came up with some wholesome praise for Indian bowling.
“They’re one of the best in the world”, he said. “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.
“They’re all different to each other, and they’ve got a fantastic bowling attack.”
But Mathews hoped his team would stand up to the challenge and give a good account on Thursday, though he said 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.”
Sri Lanka have been hit by injury to middle-order batsman Chamara Kapugedera and Mathews said 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.”
Mathews himself might not be able to bowl on against India, having missed the game against South Africa due to an ankle injury picked up in the ODI against England.
Asked if it would affect the balance of the side, given that he bowls at crucial junctures, he conceded that it will, “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.”