Knocked out of Champions Trophy 2013 by India, a disappointed Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews summed up the loss as a bad day at the office. Speaking to the media after the eight-wicket loss in the semi-final, he said, “Yes, it was a bad day, obviously. Dinesh Chandimal was not fit and the toss was very vital, I thought (which SL lost). The wicket was swinging and seaming, so the batters were finding it hard to time the ball, especially with the two new balls. It was not coming on. It was a bit two-paced and it had a bit of lateral movement. Also, to add salt to the wound, (Tillakaratne) Dilshan's injury – he was batting so well, and unfortunately, he got injured.”
Speaking about the wicket, he lauded the Indian bowlers for exploiting the conditions to the hilt. “I would say there was a bit of help for the bowler, so the credit should go to the Indian bowlers. They bowled extremely well, and they hit the good areas, and it was difficult for us, for the batters to move on,” he explained.
Asked if the conditions were still a factor when India came out to chase the target, Mathews said, “It got a bit easier, but I thought 182 was just below par. 182 was nothing on that wicket. It got easier, and with the Indian batting line-up, at least 250 would have been a good score on that.”
Discussing the lack of runs on board, Mathews, “Initially I thought, in the first 10 overs we had to bat through; it was kind of like Test match batting because the ball was not coming on, and it was not easy for the batsmen. I thought as soon as we started the powerplay, we lost Mahela (Jayawardene), so we had to sort of rebuild once again. So we lost wickets at regular intervals and we couldn't really gather momentum at all.”
Although they could not make it to the final Mathews appreciated his team’s effort leading up to the semi-final and said, “Our main objective was to get to the semi-finals, but I thought from there we wanted to kick on to the finals. But we just wanted to take one game at a time, and today was a bad day at the office. But the credit should go to the whole team, the way they showed their character in the second and third games after losing to New Zealand. We had to do it the hard way, and the boys, rose up to the occasion. So, all credit should go to the whole team.”
Asked if their strike bowler Lasith Malinga’s performance against India, he said, “Today I thought Lasith was very effective with the new ball, and also when it’s reversing, he is very effective. But today it was cold, the boys couldn't really grip the ball, (...) there was no reverse swing. So it was coming on pretty well.”
Speaking about the Indian team and the way they have adapted to the conditions, he said, “They have been unbeaten so far, and they have been playing some really good cricket. We all know they are the current world champions and they have played some really good cricket. They play their own brand and they are quite good at it. You know, it is very tough to go head‑to‑head with them. You need to gear up all the time.”
Discussing their performance in the crucial game, he added, “We knew we had to play some really good cricket to beat India, and we planned out all the strategies. But unfortunately, I thought the toss was very crucial. The wicket was seaming, and there was a bit of lateral movement. So, yeah, 182, I mean, you can't really (put up such a target) against the Indian batting line-up. And the wicket got all the easier in the second half, so 182 was never enough on that wicket. It was not the mental side of it, but India tends to play well against us, so can't really figure out what is going on.”
