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Pakistan tour boosts Sri Lanka’s confidence against India

By IANS,

Karachi : After trouncing Pakistan 2-1, Sri Lanka’s captain Mahela Jayawardene said they now aim to beat India on home soil.

Before leaving for Colombo, Jayawardene told reporters here Sunday that two emphatic back-to-back wins over Pakistan have raised his players’ confidence for the ODI series against India that begins Jan 28.

“We’ve beaten Pakistan by big margins in two consecutive games and that is going to help us in the series against India,” Jayawardene said.

“The win was our sixth in seven one-day series and the only one which hurt badly was our defeat against India at home. Hopefully, we will turn things around this time.”

Sri Lanka arrived in Karachi from Lahore for a brief stay Sunday before flying out for Colombo, completing a six-day visit of Pakistan.

Sri Lanka lost the first match of the series by eight wickets but bounced back to defeat Pakistan by 129 runs and 234 runs in the next two.

Jayawardene said his team will be high on confidence when it returns to Pakistan next month for a two-Test series.

“Test cricket is a different ball game but winning the one-dayers has certainly added to our confidence.”

Sri Lanka will play two Tests in Karachi and Lahore. The series was lined up along with three one-dayers last month.