Mathews hails bowling effort

angelomathews

In the third and final match of Sri Lanka's home series against Pakistan, Mathews' men bowled their opponents out for just 102.

Thisara Perera (4-34 off eight overs) mopped up the tail after Dhammika Prasad and Lasith Malinga gave Sri Lanka a bright start.

And they needed less than 19 overs to chase their victory target, with Tillakaratne Dilshan hitting an unbeaten 50.

Sri Lanka lost the first match of the series in Hambantota but bounced back well, leaving Mathews delighted with the efforts of his players.

"After that defeat in Hambantota, we had to put up our socks," Mathews said.

"The bowlers set the tone [today], Dhammika and Malinga early and then Thisara.

"I wanted to experiment a little, give Thisara more opportunities and Dhammika has also proven he is a very good bowler in the past few series.

"The pitch was doing a little bit in the early hours and then it flattened out a little bit but when you're chasing 100 you should play positive cricket and not block."

Thisara was named man of the match, and the player of the series, for his efforts.

And he said confidence was behind his improved form, saying: "First of all, I'm proud of my all-round performances.

"It's just confidence, last match I bowled well and came back strongly. I'm going to work on my bowling and keep getting better. As a bowling unit we've done really well."

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq bemoaned his side's efforts with the bat after their meek defeat.

Misbah came to the crease with Pakistan at 14-3 and although he and Fawad Alam (38 not out) steadied the ship momentarily, the skipper was then run out by Dilshan's direct hit.

It proved a key turning point in the game as Sri Lanka raced through the remainder of Pakistan's batting order.

"We lost too many wickets early," Misbah said.

"Fawad and I were trying to be there till the 30th over. We tried to put up a fight, but again we lost too many wickets."

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