- June 22, 2025
Not every day a cricket legend leaves the field for the last time, and not every day a team fights for dear life to avoid a loss in his farewell Test. For one last dance in Galle, Sri Lanka turned grit into tribute, wrapping Mathews in a curtain call of courage. On a pitch turning square and in a Test match that swung erratically over five days of cricket, Sri Lanka held on for a draw against Bangladesh, and Mathews’s last Test did not end in despair.
Did Bangladesh Miss Its Window?
Once the dust settled, the big talking point was simple – could Bangladesh have declared sooner? They batted quite a bit to the end of the final day and maybe a little too much, and Najmul Hossain Shanto’s pursuit of twin centuries probably slowed things down. The rain may have trimmed the day, but Bangladesh filled the gap with a burst of intent—11 overs of hope stitched into fading light.
When they declared, Sri Lanka had 296 in 37 overs – neither side thought this was a possibility. The only question was whether Bangladesh could take all ten wickets in the time remaining and on a pitch that was beginning to spit and spin like crazy- now looking back, I think it may have been a frustrating “sort of” option.
Yes, it was nice that Shanto had an individual double – only the third time a Bangladeshi batter has scored centuries in both innings in a Test – but maybe team goals should be more important. A little quicker Declaration would have possibly left a little window open to a remarkable win.
Taijul and Nayeem Spin a Web
Even though the chance was missed, Bangladesh’s spinners caused tremendous trouble for Sri Lanka in the last session. Taijul Islam was remarkable. For Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, he had them slightly dreaming of a famous victory after he got rid of both of them. Mathews was caught at a silly point after a beautifully disguised arm ball, while Chandimal succumbed to a sharp turn that clipped the off stump.
The dismissal of Pathum Nissanka, with Nayeem Hasan’s involvement, was a turning point that kept Sri Lanka from gaining momentum. For a time, it looked like the game was truly shifting to Bangladesh’s favour. But cricket can be cruel that way – when the game hangs in the balance, it can all disappear in an instant, just when the script looked like a tragedy, Dhananjaya and Kamindu rewrote the scene like plot-twisting novelists.
A Gritty Goodbye for Mathews
In the end, it was not the fairy tale finish with Mathews either taking his team to victory or not even losing. But perhaps a gritty, hard-fought draw was a more fitting tribute to Mathews’ career, a career based on the ability to show resilience, to know how to take a deep breath during the pressure moments and to coldly refuse to give in until the umpire has said that is enough and has put the bails on the stumps.
His last innings may have been short, but the heart his team showed in resisting defeat in his last Test spoke volumes. Sri Lanka did not wilt under pressure; they honoured their great player by standing up.
Could Bangladesh have done more? Possibly. Did Sri Lanka show heart? Certainly. And in the end, isn’t that what Test cricket is about?
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