Despite India going down by eight wickets to Sri Lanka at the Manuka Oval on Tuesday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni refused to be downcast, believing that the very structure of the triangular series allowed teams to bounce back from ‘bad days’.

After India had amassed 195 for five from 29 overs, Sri Lanka were left to chase 154 in 21 overs following a rain break. Sanath Jayasuriya's blitz took them to 50 in the sixth over, and that was that.

“The start they got was very good. Jayasuriya and Dilshan batted very well, cleared the fielders, played good shots, took risks and were successful. When a team gets to 50 so quickly, it gets pretty easy after that. The approach changes when the target is revised. 154 in 21 overs is not too much. The kind of start they had was really amazing. By the time I knew what was happening, they had reached 50. As skipper, there is nothing much you can do. It was amazing to see Dilshan bat, and the way he carried on.”

S Sreesanth was taken for 23 in one over as Jayasuriya laid into him. “He was bowling in the right areas, he was not bowling badly,” Dhoni said in defence of his young quick. “The way they batted was brilliant. But days like this will make the bowler understand areas to work on. Sree was a bit down after Jayasuriya got stuck into him. You need character to handle such situations, and I am sure he will come back stronger.”

Reflecting on the nature of the tri-series, Dhoni went on, “This is always an open tournament. The advantage is that you can always bounce back after a few bad days because there are so many matches to play.” The teams meet each other four times in the league stage in seeking to qualify for the best-of-three finals.

India’s fielding was a touch ragged, but Dhoni wasn’t too concerned. “Their running between the wickets was very good, Dilshan was putting a lot of pressure on the fielders. The outfield was a bit wet, and when you are charging to get to the ball, sometimes you don’t pick it up cleanly. The fielding was not really up to the mark, you might say, but overall, the fielding effort was better.”

Deflecting criticism of Yuvraj Singh’s poor form, the Indian captain observed, “You can’t count today as a failure, he didn’t have too many options in the situation that he came in to bat. I wanted to keep a left-right combination going, but when Gautam got out in the 20th over, I decided I should get in. I have been among the runs, and it was necessary for us to get on with it.”

Asked if his stress on youth had been vindicated by Rohit Sharma’s efforts, Dhoni replied, “It helps the skipper if newcomers perform, because you must give them ample opportunities. In India, if you don’t score in a couple of games, the pressure starts mounting. When you perform, you think you have earned a few matches for yourself. Whoever the newcomer is, he must get ample chances.”