Throughout the ODI series against India, Sri Lankan captain, Angelo Matthews, resembled the leader whose troops refused to turn up. With 339 runs, he finished as the series’ highest run-getter and picked four wickets at crucial times. As if to ignite a streak of inspiration among his struggling team and push them to end the series with a flourish, Matthews came up with his best performance of the series in the last match, at Ranchi. He scored brilliantly paced, planned and stroked 139 unbeaten runs and, with the ball, dismissed both Indian openers inside five overs. However, the captain’s superlative performance wasn’t enough for Sri Lanka to avoid a 0-5 whitewash as they went down by two wickets in a tight finish. While Matthews commended the batsmen for having put up 287 on a wicket that was perhaps, the least batting friendly one in the series, he was unequivocal in assessing his “wayward” bowlers. “Our performance was comparatively better,” Matthews said. “We have improved quite a bit from the last four games. It was a tough wicket to bat on. The ball was stopping, turning, and it was keeping up and down. “The batsmen had to dig deep to score runs and build partnerships. We did that but unfortunately the bowlers, especially the spinners, were a bit too wayward,” he said. Even as he acknowledged his batsmen’s intent on a difficult pitch, Matthews said he would like more starts to be converted into big scores. “I would like to see more batsmen get more runs,” he said. “Whoever gets in has to go for a big one that day. However, the way Dilshan, Thirimanne and Mahela batted, were some positives. All batsmen got starts but we need to improve in all departments.” Matthews said the team will have to forget the result of this series soon and concentrate on the tasks ahead of them. He also said this series has helped him zero in on the young players who he thinks can deliver in the World Cup. “We have figured out who our players are going to be by trying them out here. Playing in India, there is always pressure. We wanted to know who guys are who can handle such pressure and we now have a fair idea about it. “Result-wise, we need to flush this series out of our system and look forward to the England series,” Matthews said.