“Embarrassing to not be competitive”: Mathews

Saturday, 15 November 2014 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

ESPNcricinfo: So complete has India’s dominance of Sri Lanka been this series that Angelo Mathews, an increasingly forthright speaker, has virtually run out of ways to describe his team’s failure. For the fourth match in a row, Mathews said his team was outplayed in all three departments. This loss was perhaps the most dispiriting match of the series for Sri Lanka’s bowlers, who conceded 233 runs in the last 18 overs. Only Mathews had gone at less than seven an over, and the attack had shared only four wickets between them – one of India’s dismissals having been a run out. “In the second 25 overs they scored somewhere close to 270 runs and that is unacceptable,” Mathews said. “That is where the match slipped away. Four-hundred is a humongous target. Our bowlers didn’t have any answers for their batting. Nothing can be taken away from Rohit’s brilliant knock, but we could have had more plans and executed them properly. “You need to try and bluff. You can’t bowl the same length and line for three or four overs – or even one over for that matter – on tracks like these. We haven’t played this badly in the last six-eight months, when we’ve competed against top teams. We all know that in India it is tough, and we need to be more competitive to win against India.” Mathews also had harsh words for his batsmen, who combined, still fell 13 short of Rohit Sharma’s 264. Sri Lanka lost four wickets in the first 10 overs, then surrendered four more during the batting Powerplay – both of which have been themes in the series. “Three-hundred was a cakewalk on this wicket. If we had wickets we could have at least got to 350. Unfortunately our openers haven’t batted for five overs in this series, and that is a concern as well. We need to look at all these problems, address them soon, and get it fixed. “We need to look at ways where we can score 300-plus and give our bowlers a chance. But if we are bowling first we need to restrict them to less than 350 to give ourselves a chance.” Sri Lanka have dropped straightforward catches throughout the series, but none so costly as the chance Thisara Perera fluffed off Rohit in the fifth over. Rohit would add 260 to his score following that spill at third man, and he would be dropped once more on 201, with another half chance going down a few overs later. “It’s embarrassing because we were not even competitive enough with the Indians in the last four games. Once again we were poor in the field. We let go of Rohit and it cost us the game. You can’t let go of a brilliant player like that, and he showed us today how things need to be done when batting.” Though several players had seemed less than thrilled at the lack of preparation before this tour, Mathews said the poor performances had not been for a lack of effort. “I think the intensity level has been good. In the past two games it has picked up a little bit. But I think the pressure has got to us. When we play against a team like India in India, there is pressure, and it is tough. We need to try and be a bit more positive and aggressive on the field – both the bowlers and also the fielders. Try and get that one run out, change the game, and grab that half chance. Our work ethic has been really good in the past week or so. It’s not about the work – it’s about executing on the field.”

“I was ready to bat another 50 overs”: Rohit Sharma

After becoming the first batsman in history to record two ODI double-centuries, and breaking the record for the highest score in the format, Rohit Sharma said he felt it was important “to think” about an innings while compiling it. And that’s what he did at Eden Gardens, he said. “It’s important to look at the team score, because that’s how you will build your innings, you need to know where your team stands,” Rohit said, after his 264 off 173 balls powered India to 404 for 5 against Sri Lanka. “It’s important to know what the score is and how many overs have been bowled, and how many overs of each bowler are left. I think it’s very important to think when you’re batting, and that’s what I did.” Rohit was playing his first match for India in two and a half months, having been sidelined by a finger injury and a shoulder strain. He had shown signs of hitting the top form straightaway in his return to competitive cricket – the warm-up game in Mumbai against the Sri Lankans before this series – when he scored 142 off 111 balls. After that break, Rohit joked, he was relieved to get time in the middle. “After a few months’ break, so I’m not really tired, I was ready to bat another 50 overs,” he said, adding that the pitch made it necessary for him to not throw away his start. “But yeah, jokes apart, I was determined and dedicated to getting a big one. Once I got to fifty, I knew that I had to convert, because it was a good batting wicket. The scores here, even 300-350, are easily chaseable. We wanted to get a big score and that made me stay there as long as possible.” Getting going, he said, was not the easiest, but he was determined to fight it out. “The initial part, the first 10-15 overs were not easy. Coming back from an injury, playing after two months, I was feeling a little out of place. The free-flowing strokes were not coming as naturally as it comes to me, but I wanted to get stuck in the middle and that required a lot of dedication and determination. “I kept telling myself that no matter what, how many balls I play, I need to stay there because I know I can [make up the scoring rate] any time. That was the idea. Luckily the quickfire 30 [28 off 24] from Ajinkya Rahane helped me to settle down. It helped me take my time, because after an injury coming and giving it away was not the idea. I just wanted to make it count.” Rohit was out off the final delivery of India’s innings, and that gave him great pleasure, he said. “The fact that I went on to play 50 overs, that was really pleasing to me because I’ve been working on it, to bat as long as possible. So finally to do that was really good.” Did he know when he broke the record 219 scored by Virender Sehwag then? “I knew he got 219 because when I scored 209 the last time, someone said I had missed the world record by 10 runs. But while batting I was not looking at that, which is why you must have seen on TV also, I was a little surprised when I saw my team-mates standing and giving me an ovation from the dressing room. I was a little surprised as to what happened, but then I realised I must have surpassed the 219.” When asked if he would go after a triple-hundred next, he laughed, saying: “I will try my best to get there, but as of now I will take 264.” And 264 should be enough to top the charts in ODI cricket for a long time, stand-in India captain Virat Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “Today is the kind of day I can tell my kids I was there,” Kohli said. “I don’t think this record is getting broken anytime soon.” This was Rohit’s first ODI at Eden Gardens, and he pointed out that it seemed to be his lucky ground. “Very special ground to me, I made my Ranji Trophy debut here, my Test match debut here [and] got a 100, got a hundred in IPL as well, and now this. A lot of memories here, which will remain close to me, and this one was really special.” The Cricket Association of Bengal, which was celebrating 150 years of Eden Gardens, agreed that it was really special, announcing a cash award of Rs. 2.64 lakhs ($ 4,300 approx) for Rohit after the game.

Indian tour has hurt Sri Lanka’s World Cup preparation: Arjuna

NDTV: Refusing to blame the players for the ODI debacle in India, World Cup winning former Sri Lanka Captain Arjuna Ranatunga said the country’s administrators were responsible for the fiasco which has disturbed the team’s World Cup preparations as well. Sri Lanka are down 4-0 in the five-match series, which was hurriedly arranged after West Indies cricketers pulled out of India due to a pay dispute with their Board. Ranatunga said he holds Sri Lanka Cricket, the Ministry of Sports, his former teammates Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu and skipper Angelo Mathews responsible for the side’s poor show so far. His comments came after Sri Lanka lost the fourth ODI at the Eden Gardens following Rohit Sharma’s record-breaking 264-run knock. “In trying to please India but they have taken Sri Lanka Cricket into a depressing situation. Jayasuriya (Chairman of selectors) and Atapattu (the National Coach) made us believe that the Indian tour would come in good stead for our World Cup preparations,” Ranatunga said. “This has been proved false now. We were aware that the Sri Lanka team was attending a fitness program when the decision was made to go on the Indian tour. These are the results of poor planning,” said Ranatunga, who steered Sri Lanka to win the 1996 World Cup. Ironically it was Ranatunga’s younger brother, Nishantha, the SLC Secretary, who was accused of arbitrarily agreeing for the tour after the pullout of the West Indians. Nishantha Ranatunga defended his decision saying the SLC’s Executive Committee had backed him in the decision.