Angelo Mathews is earning a reputation as an outstanding finisher in limited-overs cricket. On Thursday, in the second ODI against India, he came up with a fine unbeaten 92 that enabled his side to a total of 274 at Ahmedabad.
Mathews has been involved in quite a few rescue missions in the past. This year, he’s the highest run-getter in ODI cricket averaging 64 with a strike rate of 87. A maiden ODI century, however, has eluded the Sri Lankan captain so far. Although he has scored 23 half-centuries.
Mathews’ calm influence is very much pivotal to the Sri Lankan side. Often you see him building crucial partnerships with the tail. Together with Dhammika Prasad, he produced 54 runs for the ninth wicket on Thursday.
It was his skill to build partnerships with the tail that enabled Sri Lanka to win their maiden Test series in England earlier this year. At Headingley, Mathews teamed up with Rangana Herath to add 149 runs for the eighth wicket to take the game away from England. Sri Lanka won the Test and recorded a memorable 1-0 series win.
Mathews was involved in a similar rescue mission at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2010. The venue traditionally has a lot of support for Sri Lanka due to many expatriates living in Melbourne but in that match the MCG was reduced to a mere few hundred Sri Lankan fans when the team slumped to 107 for 8 chasing 240.
Mathews then added a world-record stand with Lasith Malinga for the ninth wicket to help Sri Lanka to a stunning win against many odds. The tourists went on to record their first-ever series win on Australian soil.
That knock came four years ago. Mathews was just 23 then and was still finding his feet in the side. It was that knock that convinced authorities that Mathews deserved a longer run in the side and he hasn’t looked back since.
Mathews has characteristics required for a number five batsman. In ODIs, those occupying number five and six slots often bat with the tail under extreme pressure. He has done well at number five as he absorbs the pressure and builds partnerships. Mathews is good at farming the strike and then accelerates cleverly responding to the demands of the situation.
Another former captain Arjuna Ranatunga also batted at number five and was extremely good at batting with the lower order as he too absorbed the pressure very well.
Sadly though, he managed only four one-day centuries and Mathews could end up with the same fate.
Some observers have suggested Mathews should bat higher up the order to produce the best result for the team and should take up the number four slot when Mahela Jayawardene retires after the World Cup but looking at his success at number five that may not be the right idea. Someone like Dinesh Chandimal or Lahiru Thirimanne instead could occupy the number four slot and Mathews can concentrate on batting at number five as very few are capable of the stellar job he performs at this difficult position.
Mathews’ steady rise has been acknowledged as he has been shortlisted for the ICC Cricketer of the Year and ICC Test Cricketer of the Year awards. He has also been named captain of the Test Team of the Year.
