Sri Lanka's batting depends a lot on Jayasuriya: Ganguly

A disappointed Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya blamed his batsmen for not firing once again in their last round robin match of the Coca Cola Cup which the home team lost to India today.

"It's disappointing. The first 15 overs are very crucial and we lost three wickets in the first ten overs and that's where the game went out of our hands."

Sri Lanka's strong batting line up has failed to provide the goods in this tournament but the bowlers have been able to do the job for the Sri Lankan captain. "In the previous games we had one batsmen who kept going. Either Russell, Marvan or me but today it didn't happen," he said.

Right through this tournament, Sri Lanka has been sticking to the six batsmen policy. When asked as to whether they would deviate from that policy in the final, the Sri Lankan captain said, "We want to persist with the same combination. If we play seven batsmen, then we'll be short of an all rounder. I think we'll stick to the six batsmen policy."

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly meanwhile remained positive of a victory in tomorrow's game against New Zealand. "After today's victory, we've got the same points as New Zealand. I am confident we can turn it around in tomorrow's match and book a berth in the final. We haven't done well against them in this tournament, but I am sure we can put up a much better performance."

India started off poorly with the cream of their batting back in the pavilion with just 38 on the board. But at the end, they managed to go past 225. "We lost a few very early wickets. But Yuvraj, Rahul and Sodhi batted superbly to take us past 225," said Ganguly.

"When we had the wicket of Sanath Jayasuriya I knew we had the game in our hands. Sri Lanka's batting depends a lot on Sanath. If we get him early that's it," said the Indian skipper.

"If you look at Sri Lanka's success rate, they've won most of their matches because of Sanath or Aravinda. One of them is not there," remarked Ganguly.

Man of the match Yuvraj Singh returned to form with a fine unbeaten 98. The left-handed batsman has been shuffled between the opening slot and the middle order, but today when the team needed his services the most, he came good. However he seems to be content with whatever position he bats. "I wouldn't mind batting in the middle order or opening the innings. I play according to the team's needs," he said.

Yuvraj missed out on his maiden century by just two runs. At the end of the day reflecting on the innings, he said, "Yes, a hundred would have been nice. I have not got one. I was unfortunate to slip on a couple of occasions while I was running. But once again that's how it goes. I don't mind as long as we keep winning."