Mathews hails 'mature' Perera
(MENAFN- Kora) Perera's maiden one-day international hundred helped Sri Lanka make light work of chasing down 241 in Dhaka on Saturday
The opener struck 106 from 124 deliveries and shared 138 for the fourth wicket with Dinesh Chandimal as the tourists showed they could cope without senior trio Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, who were all missing from the same ODI for the first time in 15 years
Mathews, who rounded off his side's win with a six over midwicket, was delighted to see 23-year-old Perera, an aggressive left-hander often compared to former Sri Lanka batsman Sanath Jayasuriya, prosper
"Kusal Perera showed a lot of maturity today. We didn't have senior guys and someone had to step up," the skipper said
"I am glad that he and Dinesh Chandimal did. He (Perera) doesn't change his game at any point. We have always told him to believe in himself and he batted brilliantly
"We always told him (Perera) to enjoy and bat the way he does because if he gets the start, he will win more games for us.
Mathews felt Sri Lanka's comeback in the series-opener, which saw them recover from 67-8 to post 180 before dismissing Bangladesh for 167, was central to their eventual series clean sweep
"We had the fighting spirit," Mathews said. "When we were 67-8, most of you guys would have thought we would have given up the game, but we hung in there
"We always believed in ourselves, believed in our team spirit. We never give up. We are really pleased with the guys.
The opener struck 106 from 124 deliveries and shared 138 for the fourth wicket with Dinesh Chandimal as the tourists showed they could cope without senior trio Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, who were all missing from the same ODI for the first time in 15 years
Mathews, who rounded off his side's win with a six over midwicket, was delighted to see 23-year-old Perera, an aggressive left-hander often compared to former Sri Lanka batsman Sanath Jayasuriya, prosper
"Kusal Perera showed a lot of maturity today. We didn't have senior guys and someone had to step up," the skipper said
"I am glad that he and Dinesh Chandimal did. He (Perera) doesn't change his game at any point. We have always told him to believe in himself and he batted brilliantly
"We always told him (Perera) to enjoy and bat the way he does because if he gets the start, he will win more games for us.
Mathews felt Sri Lanka's comeback in the series-opener, which saw them recover from 67-8 to post 180 before dismissing Bangladesh for 167, was central to their eventual series clean sweep
"We had the fighting spirit," Mathews said. "When we were 67-8, most of you guys would have thought we would have given up the game, but we hung in there
"We always believed in ourselves, believed in our team spirit. We never give up. We are really pleased with the guys.
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