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'Consistency is what we're looking for' - Atapattu

The Sri Lankans were clearly happier at the end of a Test match that produced just over four sessions of play



'It was an exceptional spell' said Marvan Atapattu on Chaminda Vaas' bowling in the first session © Getty Images
The Sri Lankans were clearly happier at the end of a Test match that produced just over four sessions of play. Marvan Atapattu and Tom Moody spoke of going back to the drawing board after the debacle in the one-day series, while Greg Chappell brushed off any suggestions that India's batting collapse this morning could have damaging repercussions.
Greg Chappell
On the batting collapse in the morning
The Sri Lankans bowled quite well, and we didn't bat as well as we could have done. I thought we made it look a bit harder than it really was.
On whether he would read too much into today's events
I wouldn't. It was good practice for both teams. That's about all you can say.
On whether the batting was a concern
I wouldn't read too much into it. We've learnt some lessons from this game, and we'll address them.
On Sehwag squandering another start
If you want to make it a cause for concern, you can. We know that at some stage, he's going to go on and play a big innings. It could be in Delhi. It's not a big issue at the moment. And he was the top scorer.
On what areas the teams needs to improve
We obviously need to make more runs. Hopefully the batting conditions will be different in Delhi. But I don't think you can make too much of this. Things can change very quickly.
On what he made of Sourav Ganguly making few runs, and no impact with the ball
I wouldn't [make much of it]. What can I say? We made 167 runs.
Marvan Atapattu
On the batting conditions
It wasn't the easiest pitch to bat on. The ball kept low, and batting was hard work.
On his team's performance
I thought we did pretty well with the ball to restrict a very strong line-up to 167. We're satisfied with how we played. It was important that we start well after what happened a month ago [in the one-day matches]. It was up to us to put things right in the middle.
On what this meant to the team
Like Tom [Moody] said, we prepared very hard for this. Consistency is what we're looking for, and this will give us a lot of confidence.
On Chaminda Vaas
It was an exceptional spell. To bowl 10 overs on the trot this morning without conceding a run, against such good opposition, tells its own story.
On how his spinners bowled
You expect Murali to perform on any type of pitch. But for our legspinner [Malinga Bandara], it was a first wicket seven years after making his debut against New Zealand in Colombo. That shows you how tough Test cricket is, and how cruel it can be.
On being missing from the field for most of the morning
I sprained my right ankle yesterday and aggravated it this morning. We didn't want to take any chances, so I went for an X-ray.
Tom Moody
On how he looked at the match
You can see it in a number of ways. We're pleased with the limited cricket that we got, and disappointed that we didn't get five days. We'd prepared very hard for this, and it was a shame that the weather won in the end. But we're looking forward to Delhi.
On how Vaas, his former county team-mate, bowled
Chaminda's worked very hard over the past few weeks. He was disappointed, as we all were, after what happened in the one-day series. I was really pleased that he could string a spell like that together, and produce such a performance against a strong side. He's a vital member of our team, and it's nice to see such hard work rewarded.

Dileep Premachandran is features editor of Cricinfo