Angelo Mathews lived up to his self-belief that he could score big on his return from a calf injury.
“It is a big relief. I knew I was hitting the ball well in the nets. After the Calcutta Test, where I scored a 50, I was disappointed that I couldn’t capitalize on it. I had the confidence within myself as I was hitting the ball well in the nets.
"Once I had a start, I wanted to captailize. Little bit of luck as well. It all happens in the game and I am pleased to cross three figures. But then, I could have gone on to get a bigger one. But credit to the Indian bowlers. They kept at it. We had to work extremely hard for runs,” said Mathews.
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On the century, he added, “I wanted to badly get that hundred. Chandi (Chandimal) was batting so well. He was so fluent. For me, it was not the more fluent innings, but one where I had to work extremely hard. I am glad that it paid off."
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On the smog incident creating bitterness between the two teams, Mathews said, “It was one of those unique occasions where no one knew what to do. It didn’t hamper the relationship of players on the field. Off the field we are great friends and it will remain the same.”
Mathews did not appreciate the Sri Lankan innings collapse after his dismissal. “I was disappointed with the way we ended up the day’s play. We could have ended up with a few more wickets in hand. Especially going into the fourth day, we had made the bowlers to work extremely hard. Towards the end we gave away too many wickets. We have to sort of do well tomorrow and take the grip back by striking early. Taking couple of early wickets will help us.”
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