Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was elated after recording his first Test match victory away from home against Pakistan on Sunday.
After fighting back to draw the first Test in Abu Dhabi, the visitors dominated the second Test in Dubai to record a nine-wicket win.
“That’s what cricket is about. You need to keep fighting. I thought we did exactly that in the first Test. We managed to draw the first one and hang in there,” the all-rounder told the Sri Lanka Daily news.
“This was a wonderful victory by the help of the whole team. It was a great win.
“We always learn day-by-day and as an individual I’m trying to learn every day.
With the help of the seniors and also the teammates, I learn as a captain. My approach will always stay the same. I try to be as positive as I can and try to read the situations as quickly as I can.”
Mathews was particularly pleased with the way his fast bowlers performed in the match, particularly in the first innings when they dismissed Pakistan for a paltry 165.
“They actually set it up for us. The toss was a bit crucial but I thought you need to bowl in the right areas to get them out. They did exactly that. I thought they were brilliant in the first innings as well as in the second innings. Given the conditions they had to put it on the right spot, which they did. To get them all out for 165, I thought it was a tremendous effort. The batters had to get a good score to put them on the back foot, which they did,” the 26-year-old continued.
“The Pakistan team is a very good one. The last time we were in the UAE, we didn’t do that well. But against this team you have to play positive cricket because if you give them even a little opportunity they will trample all over us. We constantly played well and won the difficult moments. As a team we played very well.”
