Skipper warns of better things

Mahela Jayawardene was happy with his team's overall performance against India

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Mahela Jayawardene believes there is still room for improvement after Sri Lanka strolled to victory over India in the first one-day international on Monday.

Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan claimed three wickets apiece as India were bowled out for 146 after opting to bat first.

Jayawardene then hit an unbeaten 61 as Sri Lanka overhauled their target with eight wickets and 15 overs to spare.

The Sri Lanka skipper claimed he was happy with his team's overall performance, but insisted there were aspects of their game which could be improved.

"Winning is a very good habit to have, but credit should go to the players," Jayawardene said at the presentation ceremony.

"We knew that if we picked up early wickets we could control the Indian batting. It wasn't easy, but the wicket had a bit in it at the start.

"We can't sit back on this victory. We need to continue to work hard and improve on a few minor things.”

He added: "We were not really good in the field today. We missed a couple of chances and that is something you cannot afford to do against a quality opposition.

"Overall, I'm quite happy with the way we performed. All the players are chipping in and that is the most important thing."

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted his team were made to pay for not assessing the wicket correctly.

"We didn't read the wicket correctly at the start," said Dhoni. "I think there was something for the fast bowlers at the start in the morning and the Sri Lankan fast bowlers exploited those conditions nicely.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that he read the pitch wrong after seeing some grass on the wicket

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"They got the early breakthroughs and they kept the pressure."

Asked what had prompted him to choose to bat first, Dhoni said: "We have not been chasing well in the recent past, but I think it was just the little grass on the wicket which did us in.

"We thought that with a 10 o’clock start it wouldn't do much. We had expected it to be tough in the first half-hour, but there seemed to be something in it right along.

"It got a little better to bat on later, but Munaf (Patel) and Zaheer (Khan) were still able to get something out of it.

"They bowled really well given the circumstances. Overall it was quite good, but we had too few runs to defend."

India have just one day to regroup before the second one-dayer gets underway on Wednesday.

Dhoni though feels the packed schedule could prove a blessing.

He added: "Sometimes it's a good thing as you don't have too much time to dwell on this defeat. You just get back to practice and get on with the game."