ANGELO MATHEWS ON KUSHAL MENDIS: HE WILL BE TH KEY FACTOR FOR THE TEAM AND ITS GROWTH.

The young gun kusal Mendis is proving himself at every point leaving no fingers to get pointed, his outstanding past records and presently he is playing wonderfully for the team.

Everything seems to be so perfect for this young gun that the captain himself couldn’t resist from praising him, because for the matter of mact the way he is playing he will count miles before sunset.

“He’s just very positive,” Mathews said. “Especially after losing a couple of wickets in quick succession, the way he went out there and the way he batted was brilliant. Not too many people do that – you take a bit of time and settle in and take a look at the wicket. But he’s just going out there and playing with a lot of freedom. He’s just a different kind of player.

“He’s going to be a big player for us. He’s going to be the future of our batting. If he keeps going like this he will do wonders for the Sri Lankan team and I wish him all the very best. It was a fantastic knock today.”

“Chandimal’s been tremendous for us in the Test series and also in England,” Mathews said. “He’s matured. He’s also playing with a lot of responsibility – as a senior. He’s anchoring the innings and that’s what we want from him. Him batting at No. 4, we want him to bat until the 46th over, so that guys like Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka can go out there and play with a lot of freedom.

“In our batting line up myself and Chandimal have to take the responsibility to let the youngsters play with freedom.”

The captain was very much impressed with Amila Aponso for his extraordinary bowling performance.

“Not all the spinners bowled very well out there, apart from Amila Aponso – in the first game as well as this game,” he noted. “He’s bowled in these two matches like he’s played internationals for a long time. He’s just landing it on the spot and keeping it pretty simple – just bowling it there and letting the ball do the rest. He’s been turning a few and sliding a few. It’s been extremely difficult for the batters.”