'We played some poor cricket today' - Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene had no excuses after a shoddy performance with both bat and ball that cost Sri Lanka the chance to win a bilateral series in India for the first time.
Dileep Premachandran in Visakhapatnam
17-Feb-2007
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Mahela Jayawardene had no excuses after a shoddy performance with both bat
and ball that cost Sri Lanka the chance to win a bilateral series in India
for the first time. With the exception of Chamara Silva, no other batsman
crossed 28, and the Indians overhauled the 260-run target with ridiculous
ease as the shadows started to spread across the lush green outfield.
Having taken a 1-0 lead in the series after a tense win at Rajkot, Sri
Lanka batted poorly both at Goa and Visakhapatnam to hand India victory.
"A lot of things went wrong, not just one," said Jayawardene, when asked
to assess a performance that he'll hope has little bearing on the World
Cup encounter between the two sides on March 23. "Losing a lot of wickets
early on was one of them. We knew the pitch was very good, and we probably
needed 275 or 280 or even more. We knew there would be a little bit of
movement early on, but we survived that. Then we lost wickets."
Having slumped to 56 for 4, Sri Lanka recovered to post 259 thanks largely
to the efforts of one man. "The only bright spot from the whole match was
Chamara Silva," said Jayawardene. "I thought he batted really well, with a
couple of other guys chipping in."
Silva made a superb run-a-ball 107 in his first outing of the series,
showing the sort of form that inspired Sri Lanka to a famous Test win at
Wellington last December. When asked if there had been a temptation to
play him earlier in the series, Jayawardene said: "Obviously, we wanted to
play him in at least two games. But unfortunately, the first game was
washed out, and our middle order couldn't get a bat. We tried to give
those guys a couple of games, and also make sure that every top-order guy
got a hit. We always knew the talent that he possesses, and the way he
batted in New Zealand. It's brilliant to see the way he batted, and it
gives us confidence for the World Cup."
Having put a competitive total on the board, Sri Lanka then let the game
slip with some woeful new-ball bowling. Farveez Maharoof started the rot
with a 10-ball first over, and though both Lasith Malinga and Dilhara
Fernando were immensely quick, the radar was never switched on. "Once
again, we didn't start well with the new ball," said Jayawardene.
"Defending a total like 260 on a pitch like that, it's crucial that we get
early wickets with the new ball, which we didn't do. We bowled both sides
of the wicket, and too many wides and no-balls. We had no momentum from
that point onwards. We played some poor cricket today, and India played
some really good cricket.
"If you have to control the Indian batting line-up, you have to do well
with the new ball. You have to hit the right areas, which we didn't. If
you take the whole series, we weren't very consistent with the new ball.
We gave away momentum and were always fighting to get back into the game."
He himself was as culpable as any on the batting front, with an awful
heave that extended a fallow run without a 50 to 17 games. Considering
that he had two centuries while averaging over 53 in the 16 games prior to
that, Jayawardene's form is one of the team's prime concerns heading to
the Caribbean. "Personally, I'm very disappointed with the way I've been
batting the last couple of months," he said. "I want to contribute to the
team, and I haven't been able to do that. I've been hitting the ball
pretty well in practice, but not spending time out in the middle."
It can't be overlooked that Sri Lanka played this series without their two
most experienced bowlers, but for Jayawardene, that was no excuse. "The
last time we came here, Vaasy played a few games, and so did Murali," he
said, referring to the series in 2005 when Sri Lanka were thumped 6-1. "We
always knew it would be a tough task on Indian pitches. But these guys
will learn by playing on different surfaces. They didn't bowl that well,
but will learn from the experience. It's good that the full squad is
getting prepared for the World Cup, and not just a few guys."
Though he was clearly disappointed with another poor top-order show,
Jayawardene was pretty impressed by the manner in which India's bowlers
acquitted themselves on surfaces that were largely batsmen-friendly.
"Throughout the tournament, the Indian bowlers did well with the new
ball," he said. "To be fair to our guys, I thought they [the Indians] got
the better of the conditions. The wickets had some moisture and were more
conducive [in the morning], but you can't take credit away from them.
"Our batting also contributed [to the defeat]. We played some really loose
shots today and threw a couple of wickets away in tight situations. We had
a poor game, you have to put your hand up and take responsibility for
that."
By contrast, India's batsmen breezed past the target in just 41 overs,
with Yuvraj Singh's fabulous unbeaten 95 and Robin Uthappa's breezy
35-ball 52 providing most of the impetus. "Robin had the advantage of
batting in the Power Plays," said Jayawardene when asked to assess the two
knocks. "Yuvi had to play the spinners with the field out. We were trying
to attack and take wickets, and they had the opportunity to score freely.
Both batted really well in different situations."
Unless Bangladesh play out of their skins in the Caribbean, these two
sides will be tussling for top spot in their World Cup group. "It's a
great combination with a lot of experience, and they'll be tough
opposition," said Jayawardene, when asked about the Indians. "Obviously,
playing in India, they cherish the atmosphere and you could see that
today. But come the World Cup, it'll be a different atmosphere
altogether."
With a formidable Australian side suffering an almighty injury-hit wobble
in the lead-up to D-day, both India and Sri Lanka, strengthened by the
addition of Vaas and Murali, will journey to the Caribbean with more than
a smidgen of hope in the hearts. And on foreign fields halfway across the
globe, both will need to replicate the form that they habitually show on
the green, green grass of home.
Dileep Premachandran is features editor of Cricinfo