Sanath Jayasuriya during a training session in Adelaide on Monday. (AFP)

Adelaide: Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has asked his batsmen to be patient but not negative during the crucial tri-series encounter against India here on Tuesday.

“Guys who have scored runs haven’t gone for big shots all the time. They have been patient… Michael (Clarke) did so the other night, (Gautam) Gambhir in Brisbane, Sanga (Kumar Sangakkara) in Perth,” Jayawardene said.

“One needs to spend more time at the wicket and wait for the right opportunity. It’s not easy to score runs quickly… The batters must work their way through,” he added.

With four games to go, Sri Lanka have a fair chance of reaching the final, he asserted.

“We need to keep wickets in hand and bat well and not harbour any negative thoughts,” said the Sri Lankan captain.

“We need to forget about the bad games and move on.”

Though a little worried with the batting order, Jayawardene said he is happy with the way his bowlers have performed.

“Both Murali (Muralidharan) and (Chaminda) Vaas have kept it really tight. I’m very happy with the way they have bowled. Teams respect them and the other bowlers have picked up wickets in the bargain”, he said.

“My bowlers have done a good job. Now the batsmen have to do well if we are to go further in this tournament,” Jayawardene said.

“Not only us, all batsmen have had a poor run in the series so far,” he said.

Jayawardene said Sri Lanka’s goal is similar to what India would want to do.

“We have the same thoughts — beat them in both the games and get into the finals.”

The islanders would be looking to win two of their remaining four games.

Jayawardene said the wicket was akin to what they had played on in a three-day game ahead of the Test series last year.

“We are playing on the same wicket we actually played in a three-day game here. It had a bit of grass, bit of pace and movement.

“It’s a good thing. It’s a used wicket and probably could get slower. The spinners may have a role to play in it. Right now it looks a good wicket.”