COLOMBO — Under-pressure Sri Lanka will be looking to restore their pride with a victory in the fifth and final one-day international against India starting here on Sunday.
The hosts have lost the previous four matches following inconsistent performances with both bat and ball, but skipper Mahela Jayawardene said the team were not short of motivation.
"A lot of international cricket is coming up, so we have to win this game to take the confidence into the next series (in Pakistan later this month)," the Sri Lankan captain said on Saturday.
"We have been trying different things in this series, but it has not worked for us. It's a fresh game tomorrow and we will try our best to win it. It is a challenge for us and we just cannot give up."
Jayawardene hoped his team would put in a disciplined performance after making crucial mistakes in previous matches.
"Everybody is looking forward to redeeming himself. Everybody is disappointed with the way we have played so far," he said.
"We had our chances, but did not take them. We also dropped a few catches and we have to improve upon our fielding. Fielding is the one area where we had always been consistent."
Sri Lanka failed to match India in batting in all the matches, with opener Sanath Jayasuriya being the only player to score a hundred. Kumar Sangakkara was the most consistent, making half-centuries in the last two games.
Record-breaking spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis also could not keep pressure on a strong Indian batting line-up, having so far picked only three wickets apiece.
India were indebted to their batsmen for clinching the series, with Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir scoring hundreds. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also in good form, having made two half-centuries.
Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma said his team were keen to make a clean sweep with a win in the final match.
"Definitely, we will try to make it 5-0. We have to keep the momentum going. We have been playing positive cricket in the series and hope to do that tomorrow also," he said.
"I think it is better to bowl first tomorrow as it is a day game and the conditions will be helpful. The pitch is likely to become flat as the match progresses."
India are on the verge of recording a 10th successive one-day win, having already beaten England 5-0 at home last year.
India (from): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar.
Sri Lanka (from): Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Thilina Kandamby, Jehan Mubarak, Farveez Maharoof, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Angelo Mathews
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