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News

'We will push ourselves to the limit' - Jayawardene

Greg Chappell, the Indian coach, hoped that there would be no let up in intensity for the rest of the series while Tom Moody, his Sri Lankan counterpart, thought that Sri Lanka still had a lot to play for



Mahela Jayawardene: 'We're lacking that final blow, the killer instinct' © Getty Images
Greg Chappell, the Indian coach, hoped that there would be no let up in intensity for the rest of the series while Tom Moody, his Sri Lankan counterpart, thought that Sri Lanka still had a lot to play for. They, along with Mahela Jayawardene, spoke to the media on the eve of the game
Greg Chappell
On experimenting with new players and the squad for the game
We intend to play all the players over the next three games. We haven't taken a final decision on the squad yet and haven't even decided on the 13. We will take a call depending on the conditions tomorrow. We need to give everyone a chance. You need more than 11 or 12 players in your side. It's also good to keep freshness going and managing your assets well. It keeps everyone going and guards against injury and bad form.
On the dew factor tomorrow
Yes, it's a factor to consider and we will think about it. But I think we've done well either way. It should not be too much of a concern.
On Harbhajan Singh's improvement in this series
He has worked very hard. He did well in the Challenger Trophy in Mohali. He's made technical changes with his flight and bounce and he's such a good bowler when he's getting bounce.
On Yuvraj Singh's poor run in the last four games
He's done well in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and saves us a lot of runs on the field. You need everyone to contribute in at least two out of the three aspects of the game and I think we've got quite a few allrounders in the side - Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj, Sachin Tendulkar. It would be great for him if he scores runs, but he's contributing well to the side.
On Mahendra Singh Dhoni
He's a confident individual without any cockiness. He has a good mind as he showed with a power innings one day and a finesse innings on another day. His great form with the bat is rubbing off on his wicketkeeping as well. It's also rubbing off on the others in the side.
On the players talking much more about cricket in the dressing-room
It's good for all the players. I think we're talking much more about cricket, discussing scenarios, debriefing after the matches. It's important to know what different players think of each other's games. It's been great with the seniors getting involved. Sometimes, only when someone asks you a question do you become aware that you know something. The best way to learn is to teach someone.
Tom Moody
On the pitch and conditions for tomorrow's game
It's another good cricket wicket. Obviously, being a day-night fixture, we're going to be faced with difference in conditions from afternoon to evening. But both teams have to face it and we need to rise for the challenge.
On nothing working for the team during the series
I don't think it's quite that blunt. I think India came out in the earlier part of the series punching and their chances came off. They shuffled their batting order and that came off. We performed a lot better in the last two games but have fallen short in a couple of areas.
On the lessons from this series
We need to be realistic. We didn't perform upto our usual level. Playing here is different and playing in Sri Lanka is different. We're enjoying the challenge. What we have to realise is that one-day cricket is played all over the world in different conditions and we need to adapt to it.
Mahela Jayawardene
On the team's performance
In the last two games, I thought the guys performed really well. We almost won the last game before Raina and Dhoni took it away. We're lacking that final blow, the killer instinct. But as a team everything is coming together and we hope to win in the last three games.
On what Sri Lanka learnt in the last four games
There are a lot of positives to be taken from this series. We came back even after the Indians attacked. We will look at this as a three-match series from now on and push ourselves to the limit. That will help us get some momentum for the Tests.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is staff writer of Cricinfo