Mathews not perturbed by Herath's loss of form

Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews was visibly elated after his team secured a series-levelling seven-wicket win on the final day of the Colombo Test against Pakistan on Monday. Amidst fear of rain the Sri Lankan monsoon threatening to hinder the home side's chances of a win, a quick-fire 34 from Kithuruwan Vithanage and a Dimuth Karunaratne fifty helped Sri Lanka finish the chase of 153 with over two sessions to spare.

While leg-spinner Tharindu Kaushal's five for 42 helped bowl Pakistan out for a measly 138 in the first innings, it was the raw-pace of debutant Dushmantha Chameera (three for 53) that caught everyone's attention. Lauding the youngsters' effort, Mathews said that the two bowlers would play crucial roles in the future of Sri Lanka's Test cricket and that they would need to be handled properly.

"Those two are players who can do a lot for Sri Lankan cricket," Mathews said. "We have to manage them very carefully - especially Chameera. I haven't seen a faster spell than the one he bowled in this Test match. He's very quick. He clocked 149.9 kph which is not only extraordinary for a Sri Lankan but also for any bowler around the world.

"Tharindu Kaushal turns the ball. I understand that he's raw, but he's got more than 200 wickets in first-class cricket and we have to be positive with him. Test cricket is completely different, but unless we give players the opportunities, we won't know what they can do," Mathews added.

Mathews said he was not perturbed by ace-spinner Rangana Herath's loss of form. Usually the leader of Sri Lanka's Test attack, Herath, has been grossly ineffective in the first two Tests at Galle and Colombo, having recorded figures of two for 218 at 109.00. "We're not looking to load anyone up with unfair expectations," Mathews said. "Sometimes a bowler doesn't do huge service to the team, but even if he's not getting wickets, he is preventing batsmen from getting quick runs. Herath did a lot of that in this Test.

"What Herath usually does was shared around by all four bowlers. We didn't expect too much from him. On some occasions Rangana does well, and on other occasions other players step up. Dhammika bowled brilliantly throughout the Test match. There are good signs as far as bowlers are concerned," Mathews said.

The Sri Lankan captain also had words of praise for opener Kaushal Silva, who followed a century in the first Test match with a patient half-century in Colombo. "We don't want Kaushal to change his game," Mathews said. "All the others are batting around him, which is our strategy as a team. We just want him to rotate the strike, and keep doing the things he's been doing for many, many years.

"He's played a lot of first-class games and has a lot of first-class hundreds. So he knows his game and is very well equipped. Most of the guys want to bat around him."