Angelo Mathews’ Moment of Madness Denies Century as Aussies March Towards Series Victory

On day three, Sri Lanka’s seasoned batter Angelo Mathews was left contemplating what might have been after his wicket put the hosts in an uncertain situation at Galle.

The 37-year-old was nearing a century in the final session when he attempted to clear Nathan Lyon over the square leg boundary.

Unfortunately for Mathews, his shot was caught in the wind, leading to an easy catch for Beau Webster, as he departed for 76.

“That was a poor choice,” remarked Simon Katich on Seven.

“You have to wonder if the Galle humidity got to him, causing a moment of poor judgement because that shot was quite unusual.”

Mathews’ dismissal was pivotal for Sri Lanka, who were at 5-198 at that stage after the veteran had put on a 70-run stand with Kusal Mendis.

The situation worsened for Sri Lanka, losing another two wickets and closing the day at 8-211, still leading by 54 runs.

The first session of day three concluded with Australia all out for 414, establishing a lead of 157 runs.

Once again, Sri Lanka started poorly, finding themselves at 3-39.

Kamindu Mendis and Mathews formed a partnership worth 42 runs before the former made an ill-conceived shot, caught by Usman Khawaja at mid-off.

A subsequent partnership developed between Mathews and captain Dhananjaya de Silva, but Steve Smith made a spectacular catch at slip to dismiss the opposition skipper for 23.

At 5-128, it seemed Australia was poised to push for victory on day three, yet Mathews and Kusal Mendis kept the Sri Lankan hopes alive.

Sadly, Mathews’ moment of poor judgement came at a critical juncture, becoming Nathan Lyon’s third scalp.

Ramesh Mendis was next to go for a duck, falling to Beau Webster who grabbed his first Test wicket while bowling off-spin.

The last wicket to fall was Prabath Jayasuriya, who edged a delivery from Matt Kuhnemann to Smith, marking the end of play as Australia edges closer to series victory.

“They are extremely close to sealing this series,” Greg Blewett stated on Seven.