Perth, Feb 9: Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene attributed his side’s loss in their opening game of the tri-series to the modest target set for India. The reinstated captain was, however, happy with his side’s bowling performance that provided tense moments in the run chase.

Excerpts from Jayawardene’s post-match press conference:

On the match

I thought it was a good game of cricket. Yes, we made a few mistakes, probably with the batting. Losing wickets after small partnerships probably held us back. Other than that it was a good effort. We executed a lot of our plans. We fell short because we were probably 30-40 short of [the] target [we would have liked to set].

On playing four pacers

If we had taken the last three wickets, you would have said it’s a good combination. We felt that the way the wicket was, four seamers would probably do the job for us. Picking up wickets is very crucial with India so we went with that [combination]. [R] Ashwin bowled well. He bowled really well. But he is Ashwin, a tall bowler. We go with the strength we have got. We try and work on those areas, and have a game plan and try to execute that. That’s what we try to do. But I think the bowling unit did a pretty good job. Thisara [Perera] wasn’t up to the mark today. If he had been, another couple of wickets might have meant anything. Angi [Angelo Mathews] bowled really well [also] Dhammika, all of those guys. I think where we probably went wrong was those 30-40 runs. We had a good start. We just had to have one more big partnership; then we would have [scored] 260-270 runs. That was our target which we fell short of.

On the way he bowled Lasith Malinga–brought him in and took him off the attack after getting the wicket

I brought him in because I needed the wicket. That’s it […] Lasith could be lethal with the reverse-swing, and they had a Powerplay as well, so I needed to plan for that. You need to have the reserves. Lasith did bowl his yorkers, he tried. But with two new balls it doesn’t reverse that quickly. It’s just one of those days. Any other day he would have probably picked up a couple of wickets. But I don’t fault the bowlers; they had a good day in the park. Their imagination was pretty good, what they tried to do. They executed some game plans which we spoke of in the meetings, which was great. Overall I am quite happy with that effort.

On having seven fielders inside the ring even after the restrictions were lifted

When you are defending 230, you are trying to save as many singles as possible. Not to give any easy runs. […] The only way we would win this one-day game was by picking up wickets. One way would be to put pressure on the batters. I didn’t mind them scoring boundaries; I didn’t want them getting those easy singles. It was a tough wicket to get singles on. I didn’t want them to get that. […]

On how long they would take to get the momentum going

Hopefully, not too long. We have had quite a few meetings when we arrived in Australia. We’re trying to cultivate a few things which we want in the team. The thinking processes and getting the guys to take more responsibility and be more free out there when playing cricket; and giving them a free hand. Hopefully even today we felt they have taken quite a bit in as well. The attitude, the hunger they had on the field. The fielding was fantastic. The bowling was very aggressive which was great. Hopefully we can continue to do the good things. At the same time try and improve where we have to improve.

On comparing his previous tenure as captain with the current one

I am not here to compare [this with] what I did at that time. The team I had was different, but I am trying to do something that is unique. I have still got some really good players. It’s how we get the combination, how we get different players to identify their roles, and play vital roles in the team. That’s what we are trying to do. I was nervous going for the toss today, to be honest with you. But after that once the game started, it was fine. Hopefully it will be the same as usual.

On playing Australia next

We have to be smart to beat them. We know what their strengths are; we know what our strengths are. It’s all about how you are going to apply on the day. You get into different situations in a match. Certain situations the Indians handled better than us, that’s why they won the game. That’s what we will have to do against the Australians. We will be in certain situations that we have to handle in a much better and smarter way. Try and be on top of them and try and finish the game off.

On the plans for playing against Australia

Right now, the bowling, probably. [Ryan] Harris has come back after injury, he is a decent bowler, but they are still missing quite a few frontline guys. That’s an area we can target. Overall they are a strong side. They have got good batting, but with any strong batting line-up, we need to pick up wickets. We need to come up with a game plan to do that. I think we did that [against India] to a certain extent. We will try to do the same with Australian line-up as well.

On the likelihood taking over the captaincy, and not just as a stop-gap arrangement

All that is far ahead. I haven’t given it much thought. The decision to take over was a very tough one. The easiest thing for me was to say no but the situation we are in right now I felt I needed to take that responsibility and try and do my best and see what happens. I spoke to the people that I usually speak to about the game–they all felt the same way. It took me 24 hours to take the call.

On the dropped catch in the end (ball fell as three fielders looked on)

I think [Malinga] saved me from a big fine. I think we were about two or three [overs above the time limit]. Just joking. He [Malinga] probably felt that the other guy was coming in [to take the catch] as well […]