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Since the retirement of Tillakaratne Dilshan, mediocre opening partnerships have become a routine for Sri Lanka.

From August 2014, Sri Lanka's opening pair has added 28.71 runs per innings. Among the 10 Test playing nations, this average of the opening pair ranks at number eight. While for the second wicket Sri Lanka's average is 28.63 which is the lowest among all teams.

This string of low scores for the 1st and the 2nd wicket increases the responsibility of the middle order. To repair the damage done at the top of the order, the team needs somebody who possesses the right skills and has the experience of facing such situations.

At the moment, no one except Angelo Mathews is capable of performing this task in Sri Lanka's team.