Sri Lankan skipper angry

Sri Lanka's Thilan Samaweera loses his leg stump

Sri Lankan captain Hashan Tillakaratne pulled no punches as he tore into his side after their 197-run defeat by Australia in Galle.

"I totally blame the batting for not saving this Test match," he commented.

"You can survive on this track but we were so casual in our approach and gave it to them on a platter."

He was also unhappy with his bowlers, saying: "There was not enough support for Murali and we gave them too many boundary balls."

Sri Lanka now face an uphill struggle to turn the three-match series around.

"We shouldn't get rattled, but we must get together and pull up our socks in the next two games," added Tillakaratne, who has won only one series since becoming captain last April.

Opposite number Ricky Ponting, by contrast, was delighted by a performance which saw them win his first Test as skipper despite a 161-run first innings deficit.

Ponting said the third morning, when Australia polished off Sri Lanka's last four wickets in their first innings for just 29 runs had been the turning point.

The post-match mod was ecstatic in the Australian changing room

"From there on, we played some really outstanding cricket, probably the best you have seen for a long time by Australia in these sort of conditions."

Ponting reserved a special mention for leg-spinner Shane Warne, who took 10 wickets in the match to lift his career total past 500.

"You couldn't have asked for anything more than that.

"He knew the ball was coming out of his hand pretty well and, as he said, he's as fit as he's ever been. I think that showed up the way he held up throughout this game."

The second Test starts in Kandy on Tuesday.