Mathews’ presence gave a boost to us, says Theekshana

We are very happy that a very experienced player Angelo Mathews has joined our team, which is a boost for our team said Sri Lankan mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana after the England game win in Bangalore on Thursday.

Mathews has played in India. We have a lot to learn from him. Even when we bowled, we used his experience in the match, said Theekshana who was the only recognised spinner of the Sri Lanka team in the match.

As a team, we have consistently emphasized the importance of maintaining a high standard in our fielding. In several past matches, we made errors that allowed the opposition to score runs, putting pressure on our bowlers. However, in this match, we managed to secure two or three wickets, which put us in a strong position. We made a concerted effort to apply pressure on the opposing team to secure our victory. We performed exceptionally well in all three departments, which brought us victory, he said.

We had a plan to improve our bowling. We didn’t bowl well in the middle overs and the last game against Netherlands. We bowled well with the new ball. We lost the three games because of our bowling. We just bowled accurately on Thursday without conceding many wides and no-balls, said Theekshana.

England underestimated our team because we had lost three games with only a win against Netherlands but we fared well in all three departments to outplay England, he said.

In the initial four or five overs, we conceded a few runs due to our inability to find the right length and England made a good start especially Dawid Malan played some good shots. However, when Angelo Matthews took the ball, he utilized his experience to adjust the length. This allowed us to regain our confidence in bowling. We witnessed Angelo’s success, and Lahiru emphasized the importance of maintaining discipline. England refrained from taking singles and twos and attempted to clear the boundary with sixes and fours. So, we had a chance to take a wicket, that’s what we planned here, he said.

As an experienced spinner, I don’t view it as pressure. Instead, I see it as an opportunity that the team to place their trust in me. I consider this a chance to make a contribution to my country’s success. Considering the condition of the wicket, today’s pitch, and the history of our game, we used only one spinner and i had to give off my best, he said.

As a team, we are looking to play well in the upcoming four matches and reach the semi-finals and our team commitment is very high and hope to go forward, said Maheesh.

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