Mathews lauds Tigers for ‘wonderful’ Galle Test

Sri Lankan great Angelo Mathews received a warm reception from the Bangladesh team during his farewell Test in Galle, which ended in a draw yesterday. The visitors gave him a guard of honour during his first-innings walk to the crease and later greeted him warmly after the match.

While it was an emotional occasion for Mathews, he was most impressed by the performance of the Bangladesh team—especially captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and veteran batter Mushfiqur Rahim.

"I should congratulate Bangladesh for having a wonderful Test match. Mushi [Mushfiqur] and Shanto batted beautifully," said Mathews at the post-match presentation.

Shanto's twin centuries (148 and 125) and Mushfiqur's sublime 163, followed by a brisk 49 in the second innings, were standout contributions as Bangladesh kicked off their new World Test Championship cycle on a strong note.

Shanto became the first Bangladesh captain to score twin hundreds in a Test and for his performance, he was named player of the match.

"I didn't know about the record, but it feels great to contribute," Shanto said.

Addressing the timing of the declaration-- criticised by some as overly cautious-- Shanto explained: "Yes, but the rain came suddenly and the plan had to change. We cannot control those things."

"We didn't have enough confidence against Zimbabwe, but we had good preparation before this series and showed a lot of character in this match," Shanto said about the 1-1 draw against Zimbabwe in their preceding series in April.

Playing in just his 13th Test, spinner Nayeem Hasan claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in overseas conditions on Day 4. His senior partner Taijul Islam, meanwhile, posed constant threats—removing both Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal with probing deliveries in the second innings.

Shanto was full of praise for his spinners, saying, "Taijul and Nayeem bowled really well. Nayeem didn't get many opportunities before but his work ethic is brilliant. Today [Saturday] he showed his quality."

Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva admitted the momentum slipped after Bangladesh's fightback. "The wicket was flat. Shanto and Mushfiqur batted really well. We got early breakthroughs but couldn't capitalise--they didn't give us a chance to get back into the game," he said.

The second and final Test will begin on Wednesday in Colombo.