Mathews' mopping act salvages Sri Lanka again

Perhaps it's because Angelo Mathews' team-mates have spoken so much about his capacity to absorb pressure that they have lately begun to treat him like a human dishcloth. In recent years, Mathews is the man forever mopping up top-order spills, wiping down tailenders' nervous sweats, and occasionally serving as the improvised bandage that delays bloody death and makes the corpse a little more presentable. His conversion rate remains poor but, but typically, his Sunday half-century may be the most valuable innings of the series from a Sri Lanka blade. He didn't so much score his runs, as wrestle Pakistan for them.

This was almost as timely a knock for Mathews as it was for his team, because in comparison to his mind-melting 2014, his returns across formats this year had been a little underwhelming. Last year Mathews was no ordinary dishcloth. He was one of those state-of-the-art drying fabrics manufactured as a byproduct of a space programme - the kind with which you could wipe a child's face and wax your entire car with in one sweeping motion. His year contained innings like his second-innings firefight in Abu Dhabi in January, his history-making heist at Headingley, and a few vital hands that kept Sri Lanka kicking in the home series against South Africa.

When he arrived at the crease on Sunday, Rahat Ali swinging and darting, Pakistan surged and chuffed, Mathews seemed completely oblivious to the state of a scorecard that read 35 for 3. Seeing an overpitched delivery first ball, he eased it down to the straight fence. He was beaten occasionally early on, but that means less to Mathews than it does to other batsmen. His batting is unfazed by these little failures. Each ball exists in its own universe. He had 11 runs at a run-a-ball to begin his innings, and when Pakistan pressed harder, he moseyed two from the next 23. His second four, following this fallow patch, and separated from his first boundary by 46 balls, was a vicious pull, hit clean as you like, in front of square for four.

His defusing of Yasir Shah was made mostly of stubbornness. Mathews is a firm believer in the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" line of reasoning. Occasionally, as with some of his fields, he believes in not fixing things even long after they are broken and are being sold for spare parts by an unregistered pavement vendor. Against Yasir on Sunday, he had decided not to play any shots while the bowler was coming strong. Other batsmen had tried this ploy before in the series, but Mathews was perhaps alone in not abandoning it after a few close calls. Coming around the wicket, Yasir spun a few so hard out of the rough, the ball evaded Mathews' outstretched pad and passed a hair's breadth from the stumps. But still, delivery after delivery, he kept showing Yasir leg. Totally uninterested in this, Yasir became frustrated as the afternoon went on. He moved back to over the wicket, and away from that rough.

Even following a modest tour, Mathews' average remains stratospheric as captain, at 72.87, second only to the Don (minimum 10 matches). There are serious tactical shortcomings in his leadership, but there are not many who set an example so powerfully. Mathews not the best candidate for captaincy, he is the only candidate. He has already had an unofficial warning for slow over rates in the P Sara Test, so Sri Lanka fans should now be terrified. The prospect of any other young player having the reins for even one match is frightening - on par with having Genghis Khan babysit your children.

As has been repeatedly observed over the past two years, Mathews manages to draw good performances from the men he bats with. Jehan Mubarak, who along with Upul Tharanga, has made important contributions in a low-scoring match, was in an 81-run stand with Mathews, that raised Sri Lanka from 80 for 4.

"It's very easy actually to bat with Angelo," Mubarak said. "He says if you have a positive option - take that. I was 9 off 40 balls at one stage. I was asking him whether I had to do anything. Do I need to turn the strike over a bit more? He said:  'If you are comfortable with defence, don't worry. Runs will come. But if you do have a shot, go for it if the ball is in your zone.' I did it after a while and I felt lot more comfortable."

Now almost 300 runs ahead, Sri Lanka are well-placed to begin an earnest push for victory. When Pakistan ran hot in the morning, it didn't seem impossible the hosts would be skittled for a double-figure score. As in many Tests before, Mathews' dishcloth act has been the difference.