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We didn't bat well, need to adapt to conditions: Jayawardene

Last Updated 25 April 2011, 03:45 IST

The Tuskers saw their three-game winning streak snapped and Jayawardene hoped his team will bounce back in the days to come.

"It was going to be a tough task with the dew, we needed another 20-30 runs more, we didn't bat well and they bowled well up front," the Sri Lankan said after the match.

"We needed to take wickets and not give them momentum. Rahul and Watson showed their experience and played really well. We tried our best. We didn't have a good day in the office. Hopefully we will come back.

"After the start we had, I thought 120-130 was a good score, but we couldn't execute, but plenty to learn from this. We have to adapt to conditions. It is a close table this time around, everything is beating each other, we need to keep focus and we can be top of the table again," he added.

The Royals jumped to the second spot in the points table after their win over the Tuskers and skipper Shane Warne said it would be important to keep the momentum in the business end of the tournament to enter the knock-out stage.

"We don't look too much at the table, we are still at the halfway stage. It's important to get some victories and momentum going in the final stages. We have four-five days off now, looking forward to that," said Warne, who was adjudged as the Man of the Match for his three-wicket haul.

Rajasthan batsman Shane Watson said the track was two-paced and it helped the bowlers.

"I was scratchy to start with, it was nice to hit a few big boundaries towards the end. It is normally a good wicket here, but it was a bit two-paced today, and good for the bowling side. I love opening, but will bat wherever Warnie wants me to," he said.

Jayawardene said toss was crucial in the match.

"Toss was an important factor. The pitch initially gave assistance to their spinners but later because of dew, the ball was skidding through," he said.

Talking about legendary off-spinner Muttiah Murlitharan's continued poor form, Jayawardene said it wouldn't be too long before his Sri Lankan teammate comes into his own.

"Twenty20 is a different format. The teams as well as the individuals have off days. He is keeping a flat trajectory and that is why he did not get much purchase from the wicket. The dew also did not help him as the ball was skidding through" he said.

Jayawardene praised Rajasthan for the comprehensive victory.
"The credit should also go to Shane Warne and his men who extracted maximum out of the home conditions to sail to an eight-wicket victory," he said.

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(Published 25 April 2011, 03:23 IST)

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