Mahela rues poor start
Captain Mahela Jayawardene said Sri Lanka's poor start batting under lights cost them in their defeat by England in the second one-day match in Dambulla.
The hosts were 38-4 before being bowled out for 169, chasing 235 for victory.
"The first 10 overs are crucial, the ball tends to do a bit more than in the afternoon," Jayawardene explained.
"It's all about being patient, playing proper shots and trying to keep wickets in hand. If you do that it's easy to bat once the ball comes on to the bat."
He added: "I thought 230 was a good score to chase for us on this wicket but losing too many wickets up front didn't help the cause.
"I thought the English bowlers bowled really well, in good areas and picked up wickets and created opportunities, so hats off to them."
England were heading for a much lower total than their 234-8 when they limped to 61-4 and 142-6 on a slowish surface.
But Owais Shah (82) worked the ball around superbly in adding 78 with skipper Paul Collingwood and 70 with Graeme Swann to revive the tourists.
The next match takes place in Dambulla on Sunday and Jayawardene is looking for a marked improvement.
"We came out strongly after losing the toss and took early wickets but the way Paul and Owais batted in the middle period consolidated their innings and then there was another partnership with Swann which kept it going for them," he said.
"I thought our ground fielding was one of the things which even after the first game wasn't up to the mark.
"We need to make sure we work hard and come back strong for the next one."
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