Mathews a relieved man after ton

Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews was a relieved man after reaching the three-figure mark on Monday.

The allrounder, who is returning from a calf injury, said he had the confidence to score big and it proved to be just the occasion.

Mathews scored 111 off 268 balls which was his third century against  India. He also credited the Indian bowlers for making it hard for Sri Lankan batsmen.

"It is a big relief. I knew I was hitting the ball well in the nets. After the  Kolkata Test, where I scored a 50, I was disappointed that I couldn't capitalise on it. Once I  got a start, I wanted to make the most of the opportunity and I'm glad I could. There was little bit of luck as well. It all happens in the game and I am pleased to cross three figures. But then, I could have gone onto get a bigger one. But credit to the Indian bowlers. They kept at it. We had to work extremely hard for runs," said Mathews.

"I wanted to badly get that hundred. Chandi (Dinesh Chandimal) was batting so well. He was so fluent. For me, it was not the more fluent innings, but one where I had to work extremely hard. I am glad that it paid off.

Asked if the smog incident left bad blood between the two teams, Mathews said, "It was one of those unique occasions where no one knew what to do. It didn't hamper the relationship of players on the field. Off the field we are great friends and it will remain the same."

He, however, was disappointed the way the Sri Lankan innings collapsed following his dismissal. "I was disappointed with the way we ended up the day's play. We could have ended up with a few more wickets in hand. Especially going into the fourth day, we had made the bowlers to work extremely hard. Towards the end we gave away too many wickets. We have to sort of do well  tomorrow  and take the grip back by striking early. Taking couple of early wickets will help us."