February 12, 2008

Rain or no rain, we would have won: Jayawardene

Indians may feel that rain cost them a win but Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene insisted that his side would have triumphed even if the Duckworth/Lewis system had not reduced their target at the Manuka Oval here on Tuesday.

After a delayed start, India scored 195 for five in 29 overs. The target was revised to 154 in 21 overs following another spell of rain after the Indian innings.

The Lankans overhauled the target with 12 balls to spare, losing just two wickets in the process, to register their first win of the tri-series also involving Australia.

"You can't control the weather but we could have chased down 195 as well. Our chase was well-calculated and we kept wickets in hand," Jayawardene said in the post-match press conference.

Jayawardene said his side showed lot of character in winning a critical game for the side, which has thrown the series wide open.

"It was a crucial game for us and we showed character. Winning the toss was an advantage and even though they batted really well, we planned the chase brilliantly," Jayawardene said.

"All three teams will need to be consistent in order to do well in the series from now on," he added.

Jayawardene showered praise on young Indian batsman Rohit Sharma, who scored unbeaten 70 runs.

"Rohit has had a good start to the tournament and he is an exciting prospect. We haven't seen enough of him to understand how he plays though," he said.

The Lankan skipper, however, was not too concerned about his main spinner Muttiah Muralitharan's form, who is yet to make any major impact in the series.

"... he came at a time when the new ball bowlers hadn't done much. The batsmen had to go after Murali. I thought he was a bit hesitant in the first couple of overs and a bit negative," he said.

"But he is an experienced cricketer and would learn from it," he added.
Sources:THE HINDU

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