First final's Man of the Match David Warner hurt his groin during his innings of 163 at the Gabba here on Sunday.
He revealed after the match, “When I was turning for a run in the 45th over, I felt a strain in the groin. I am hoping I would be fit for the second finals.”
Asked why consistency had eluded him so far, Warner answered, “The way I bat, I am not going to click in every innings.”
Despite a victory, Australian captain Michael Clarke was unhappy about his side's display. “I kept thinking I can't lose from that position. But Power Play and death overs have been an issue with us and unfortunately, it again was the case with our bowling today. We were lucky to get through.”
He said the young bowlers in his team were unable to execute plans during pressure situations in matches. “They are showing enough variations in the nets. We have to be better than this since we are the number one ranked side in the world.”
Clarke dwelt on the value of yorkers and changes in pace. "Yorkers are good in one-dayers. Malinga is a good example but it's just not the yorkers alone. Shane Watson also showed how change of pace can be effective on a big ground for it forces the batsmen to hit square of the wicket.”
Lauding Warner
The Australian captain had a word of appreciation for Warner and his spinners. “Warner's innings set it up for us. David Hussey and Xavier Doherty bowled the best for us. But our pacemen have to do better than today.”
Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene expected all-rounder Angelo Mathews (calf strain) to recover for the next game but added Thisara Perera (back injury) will be away from cricket for five to six weeks.
He lauded his lower order batsmen for their fight but said, “We didn't play a perfect game today. We didn't put enough pressure on the Aussies. We are in the finals and we now have to play two perfect games to win the title,” he said.
Queried about the lack of consistency in the performance of paceman Lasith Malinga, Jayawardene said, “I am not worried about Lasith. The batsmen do get away with their methods at times but it's not a big issue. In a long tournament, a couple of such displays are not an issue.”
Given the schedule of the finals, there is hardly any time for the team to practise between matches. Jayawardene said, “We obviously can't practise but we can make sure that we speak and tighten up things. I want everyone to come up with ideas.”
