Angelo Mathews refuses to cite turning tracks as reason for Sri Lanka's series win

Unhappy with the focus being shifted to Australia’s spin woes, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews wants due credit to be given to his players for sealing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing Test series against Australia.

Ahead of the final match in Colombo (SSC), the 29-year old warned the visitors of another raging turner and called on his troops to utilize the opportunity to complete a rare series whitewash.

Mathews declared, “You can't say they've not given us a fight. We had to work really hard to win those two games. We thought we played better cricket than them. I'm hearing the Aussies have not played good cricket, the wickets were pretty poor. Well, come on, you've got to grow up.”

He added, “We've been on the same wicket, they've got spinners, we've got spinners. They've fought really hard but it's just our spinners have bowled really well, exploited the conditions and bowled better than them.”

Coming into the 3-match series, both teams appeared to be evenly matched as Sri Lanka’s recent form did not inspire much confidence. When they were bowled out for 117 on the opening day at Pallekele, the odds grew even further.

However, the home side rode on a stirring fight back from Kusal Mendis before the spin troika comprising of Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan repeatedly decimated the Aussies on rapidly deteriorating pitches

Wanting to exploit the Australian batsmen’s inability to handle spin, Mathews roared, “It's going to be a turner once again. We hope that it will take a lot of turn again from day one and we hope that it will be a spinners paradise. The Aussies are going to come back very hard at us and we know they're a tough team to beat.”

“But, we are excited for the challenge. We would never get such an opportunity easily again and certainly the team is aware of how vital winning the third test is for us. We have trained harder than what we did in the last two weeks because we need the 3-0 and everyone's all good. Hopefully, we can go out there and beat the Aussies again.”