Canberra: Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels India can bounce back after the defeat to Sri Lanka on Tuesday. The captain feels that the very structure of the tri-series allowed teams to overcome ‘bad days’.

The following are excerpts

On what made the difference

The start they got was very good. Jayasuriya and Dilshan batted very well, cleared the fielders, played good shots, took risks and were successful. When a team gets to 50 so quickly, it gets pretty easy after that. The approach changes when the target is revised — 154 in 21 overs isn’t too much. The kind of start they had was amazing. By the time I knew what was happening, they had reached 50. As skipper, there is nothing much you can do. It was amazing to see Dilshan bat, and the way he carried on.

On Sreesanth who proved to be expensive

He was bowling in the right areas, he was not bowling badly… The way they batted was brilliant. But days like this will make the bowler understand on the areas to work on. Sree was a bit down after Jayasuriya got stuck into him. You need character to handle such situations, and I am sure he will come back stronger.

On the chances in the tri-series

This is always an open tournament. The advantage is that you can always bounce back after a few bad days because there are so many matches to play.

On India’s fielding

Their running between the wickets was very good, Dilshan was putting a lot of pressure on the fielders. The outfield was a bit wet, and when you are charging to get to the ball, sometimes you don’t pick it up cleanly. The fielding was not really up to the mark, you might say, but overall, the fielding effort was better.

On Yuvraj Singh’s poor form

You can’t count today as a failure, he didn’t have too many options in the situation that he came in to bat. I wanted to keep a left-right combination going, but when Gautam got out in the 20th over, I decided I should get in. I have been among the runs, and it was necessary for us to get on with it.

On if his stress on youth was vindicated by Rohit Sharma’s efforts

It helps the skipper if newcomers perform, because you must give them ample opportunities. In India, if you don’t score in a couple of games, the pressure starts mounting. When you perform, you think you have earned a few matches for yourself. Whoever the newcomer is, he must get ample chances.