Jayasuriya concerned about middle order's lack of exposure

Captain Sanath Jayasuriya admitted that the lack of match exposure for Sri Lanka's middle order was a concern after they strolled to their third consecutive World Cup win against Canada.

However, he argued that it was imperative for Sri Lanka to boost their Net Run Rate (NRR), which has now spiraled to a healthy 3.17, to increase their chances of qualifying for the second round of the competition.

"We are aware that by finishing off matches so quickly we are depriving the middle-order of batting but the situation is such that we need to keep the NRR up and have to use all options open to us," said Jayasuriya afterwards.

"It was a very good pitch to bat on and I never expected Canada to get out for 36. What we wanted to do was to put them in and get them out quickly and score runs as quickly as possible," he added.

He praised the efforts of his fast bowlers, especially rookie quick bowler Prabath Nissanka, who played in place of the injured Pulasthi Gunaratne.

"There was nothing wrong with the wicket, both (Chaminda) Vaas and (Prabath) Nissanka bowled really well. They pitched the ball in the right areas and bowled straight. We had so many lbw decisions in our favour because they bowled straight," he said.

"Prabath bowled very well and I am very happy for him. He has been a fast bowler whom we had faith on although he has been struggling in the last few games. He bowled wicket to wicket and was rewarded. He has a lot of potential and you will see him more of him in the future.

"This performance was what we wanted from him because after Pulasthi (Gunaratne) got injured we were lacking an experienced bowler. If Prabath can do the job, it is the best thing that can happen," he said.

Nissanka, who hails from Matara, the same southern fishing town that produced Jayasuriya, was delighted with his Man of the Match award.

"I love bowling on this type of wickets. The captain and coach helped me a lot to get my rhythm back at practices. I did a lot of hard work at the nets and it has paid off today," said Nissanka.

Canada captain Joe Harris said that he was disappointed the way his side played and that they were capable of better performances.

"We prepared for this tournament from six months ago and we knew it was going to be tough against established nations. But we set our minds on playing as competitive as possible against these countries. Today was a big disappointment," said Harris.