Mahela unhappy with his own form

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene said he is disappointed with his own form after Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh on Monday.

Jayawardene, speaking to STAR Cricket after his team thumped the Tigers by 158 runs said: "I am really disappointed with my own form. I have been getting the starts but just not carrying on."

The elegant right hander fell yet again after getting into the 20's to a rank long hop off Alok Kapali just when he was looking good for a big knock. The wicket would have suited his style of play perfectly.

The Lankan captain praised his boys for playing some "really good cricket" throughout the STAR Cricket Asia Cup: "We have been playing some very good cricket throughout the tournament. We lost our way a bit in the middle today but (Sanath) Jayasuriya and (Kumara) Sangakkara batted really well."

The two left handed openers banged a tremendous 201 run partnership. However, they lost some crucial wickets in the middle overs to end up with 332-8 after looking set to breach the 400 run mark at one stage.

Jayawardene hinted some of the regulars might be rested in the game against India: "We had to win this game. But the match against India might not be very crucial. So, some of the seniors can be rested."

Sri Lanka played back to back matches aginst Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful admitted Jayasuriya and Sangakkara batted brilliantly to crush any hopes of a resurgence by his team: "Sanath and Sanga batted really well. We played well too, our top order did well."

Ashraful defended the decision to send the in form Kapali at number six in a shaky voice, clearly rattled by the thumping defeat: "The team decided to send in Alok at number six since he has scored a lot of his runs at that position."

The Bangladesh skipper said he himself was in good form but just that he needed to carry on and bat a little longer.

Ashraful scored a stroke filled ton against the UAE but has since struggled to put up substantial scores against his name.

The Mutiah Muralitharan factor also weighed heavily on the Bangladeshi's mind. The wily off spinner, who snapped five wickets sent shivers down the spine of the Bangladeshi batsmen.

"Murali is a difficult bowler to handle," said Ashraful.


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