MUMBAI: Sri Lankan team won the first Twenty20 match (Pune) under Graham Ford’s “second innings” (he had coached Sri Lankan team for two years, beginning 2012) as coach but could not keep the momentum in the remaining two games.
The coach hopes the team would learn ahead of the ICC World20-20 scheduled to be played in India in March-April this year.
Speaking exclusively before leaving India shore (Monday night), Ford says, “Hopefully it (the series loss) does have an affect. (But) A positive one! It is important that we learn from these situations. I feel it has shown some of the young lads that they need to work hard to improve in certain areas”.
Sri Lankan team showed wrose performance in the third game in Visakhapatnam. “we unfortunately failed to adjust to the conditions quick enough and found ourselves well behind the game early on. Having said that the Indian bowlers were really good in those conditions”.
He, however, adds, “it is very early in my second term with Sri Lanka. I think all in the system understand that we are in the very early stages of a rebuilding phase with young inexperienced players. It has been good to see the character, energy and attitude shown by these young lads”.
“Their (young players) inexperience was however shown up by the high quality Indian team. Clearly we have much work to do. But pleasingly there is talent to work with”, he signed off.
