Aussies are low on confidence: Jayawardene

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene says Australia had lost the aura they had around them.

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene on Thursday said Australia had lost the aura they had around them and his team would try to capitalise on the frailties in Ricky Ponting’s team when the two sides face of in a crucial tri-series ODI at the WACA ground tomorrow.

Sri Lanka stormed back into the reckoning in the competition with an eight-wicket win over India in Canberra on Tuesday and can go to the top of the table if they can put it across the world champions on Friday, thereby relegating the Aussies to the bottom of the pile.

“It is a good opportunity for us to go on top of the table. We’ve got back into the tournament and the guys can really build up on that confidence,” Jayawardene said.

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Australia are coming off a defeat against India in their last match at the MCG and the Sri Lankan skipper indicated the hosts were low on confidence.

“They (Australia) are a bit under pressure. In batting, there are two or three guys who have been consistently performing, but the rest haven’t been.

“In the past the Aussies have found ways to get back into games, but the last six months I don’t think they’ve got that belief in themselves. If we can push them back from the beginning, we can create more pressure,” Jayawardene said.

The form slump in which rival captain Ricky Ponting finds himself also did not escape Jayawardene’s attention.

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“He’s had a quiet time and hopefully we can keep him under the same pressure he has been under for the last two months,” he said.

“It is in our interest to keep him like that.”