At a time when Sri Lanka’s cricket has been steadily declining, Angelo Mathews has provided one of the few glimmerings of hope for the nation.
Mathews made his first international appearance in 2008 and has played in 101 Tests, 218 One-Day Internationals, and 78 Twenty20 Internationals for his country. He has scored 14098 runs, including 83 fiftys and 17 centuries.
Despite the fact that Mathews has performed admirably for Sri Lanka over the course of his career, he does not receive sufficient credit for his efforts. He has an average of over 45 runs in Tests and over 40 runs in One-Day Internationals, which is remarkable considering Sri Lanka’s recent poor play.
Outside of Sri Lanka, the all-rounder has also performed admirably in challenging conditions. We examine Angelo Mathews’ top three hundred in international Tests in this section.
#1 102 vs. New Zealand (Christchurch, 2023)
The hosts won the toss during the recently concluded Test match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Christchurch and chose to bowl first to take advantage of the conditions. Mathews scored 47 runs in the first innings, helping Sri Lanka score 355 runs. With 373 runs, New Zealand increased its lead by 18 runs.
When Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal joined forces in the second innings, Sri Lanka was 95-4 and in a tricky position. Mathews went on to score a fantastic century against a strong bowling attack that included Neil Wagner, Tim Southee, and Matt Henry.
His efforts enabled Sri Lanka to score 302 runs, giving the Kiwis a target of 286 runs. The hosts won the match in a thrilling thriller on the final delivery of Day 5, but Mathews’ ton really gave the Lankan Lions a chance.
#2 160 vs. England (Leeds, 2014)
Sri Lanka scored just 257 runs in the first innings of the 2014 Test match in Leeds between hosts England and Sri Lanka. During their innings, England scored 365 runs to take a 108-run lead. It seemed like England would win, but Mathews had other ideas.
In the second innings, off 249 deliveries, the then-youngster batted at number 6 and scored 160 runs. England had a target of 360 runs after Sri Lanka scored a formidable 457 runs thanks to his remarkable performance.
England was bowled out for 249, resulting in the memorable 100-run victory of the Lankans. Mathews was pronounced the player of the match as well as the player of the series.
#3 120* vs New Zealand (Wellington, 2018)
In a Test match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand back in 2018, Angelo Mathews delivered an innings that could only be described as epic, helping his side draw a game that was truly gone.
Batting first, Sri Lanka could figure out how to make 282 runs, on account of half hundreds of years from Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, and Niroshan Dickwella. The visitors were 296 runs behind when the Kiwis responded with a massive 578 runs.
When the hosts reduced the Lankans to 13-3, no one gave them a chance to win the game. Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis, on the other hand, stepped up for the team and fought long and hard to prevent New Zealand from winning. Mathews added 120 runs to his 83 in the first inning by hitting 323 balls.