NZ vs SL: Angelo Mathews clocks his 14th Test century
Veteran Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews brought up his 14th Test ton in the ongoing series opener versus New Zealand. The right-handed batter ended up scoring 115 off 235 balls, a knock laced with 11 boundaries. Earlier in the match, he became just the third SL player to complete 7,000 Test runs. Here we look at his stats.
A gritty ton from Mathews
Sri Lanka were handed a first-innings deficit of 18 runs. Adding to this, they got off to a shaky start in their second outing and were reeling at 81/3. Mathews took the onus upon himself and bailed his team out of trouble. He added 105 runs with Dinesh Chandimal (42) for the fifth wicket as SL went past the 200-run mark.
7,000 Test runs for Mathews
Mathews managed a 98-ball 47 in SL's first innings and during the course, he completed 7,000 Test runs. He surpassed Sanath Jayasuriya (6,973) to become SL's third-highest run-getter in Tests. He is only behind Kumar Sangakkara (12,400) and Mahela Jayawardene (11,814) among SL batters in this format. Mathews has now raced to 7,115 runs in 101 Tests at 45.60 (100s: 14, 50s: 38).
His numbers in the format
At home, Mathews has racked up 3,640 runs at 43.33 in 57 Tests. He owns 2,888 runs in 38 away Tests (home of opposition) at 45.12. In neutral venues, he has scored 587 runs in 6 matches at 73.37. Against the Kiwis, he has raced to 1,001 runs in 12 Tests at 55.61 (100s: 2, 50s: 7).
How has the match proceeded?
Batting first at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, SL posted 355 thanks to skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (50) and Kusal Mendis (87). NZ skipper Tim Southee claimed a fifer. Daryl Mitchell's 102 and Matt Henry's 72 powered NZ to 373 in reply. At the time of Mathews' dismissal, SL were 260/6 in their second innings. The contest is pretty much hanging in balance.
