We never clicked as a unit - Moody

BARODA, Sunday - Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody said his team's cricket was nowhere near the standards they were capable of in any department of the game.

"We have had some positives along the way that we can take away, and we need to learn from that. Every player has to reflect on his own performance.

We prepared well and trained hard, but the plans were not executed in the middle. The top-order didn't fire, the bowling was inconsistent and we were not at our best in the field," said Moody.

"There is no doubting the fact that we weren't allowed to play the kind of cricket we can by India. They came hard at us from the beginning, some of the things they tried paid off, and from then onwards, they didn't allow us to get into the contest.

World cricket has been aware for over a decade that the Indian team boasts many stroke-players who are extremely dangerous, especially in India, and it will be interesting to see how they perform overseas," he said.

Moody said a 6-1 scoreline was not a pretty sight, but added: "More than the result, it's disappointing that we didn't manage to click as a unit consistently.

I thought after the fifth game, we had turned the corner, but then we had another slip-up in the sixth which is indicative of the kind of cricket we have played here."

On Sanath Jayasuriya's omission for the Tests, Moody said that Jayasuriya's form was not as good as he would have liked it to be in the last couple of months, and that was reflected in his non-selection for the Test matches.

"But I am hundred percent confident that he will bounce back. He is fit enough and hungry enough, and he is still an important member of the team."

Moody said the defeats will not affect the Tests at all.

"There will be a few personnel changes, and we have a short break that will be beneficial to us. It will give us time to freshen up mentally and physically, and this experience has given us a taste of what type of cricket to expect then.

"It will not be difficult at all to bounce back. Test cricket is very different to one-day cricket. India have another five one-dayers before the Tests, whereas we have a break, so I believe if anything, our preparation will be more focussed and better than the Indians. - [Cricinfo]