COLOMBO, March 21: Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has backed his young, injury-depleted side to beat Pakistan in the final One-day International and level the series. Sri Lanka trail 1-0 after losing a tense low-scoring encounter at Premadasa International Stadium by four wickets, a defeat that means they are no longer guaranteed a place in the ICC Champions Trophy later this year in India.

“We batted badly in the second match and ended up about 40 runs short of a decent total,” Jayawardene said on Tuesday.

“But I was really impressed by the spirit the youngsters showed in the field — we really fought hard and we can take a lot of positives from that.”

The final ODI in the series will be played at the SSC Ground on Wednesday.

“Obviously it is hard when you lose the services of players of the calibre of Marvan (Atapattu) and Chaminda (Vaas) but this is a great opportunity for young players to gain experience.

“When I look around the dressing room I can see a lot of exciting talent and believe that if we can put together a more applied batting performance on Wednesday then we will beat Pakistan.”

Sri Lanka are set to name an unchanged team with Chamara Kapugedera, just 18, set to open the innings in an experiment forced upon the team by injuries to Atapattu and veteran Sanath Jayasuriya.

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, meanwhile, said he was delighted with the way his batsmen had safely negotiated the key threat of off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

Muralitharan has been economical in the series, conceding 55 runs in 20 overs, but has yet to take a single wicket.

“We did prepare a lot on how to play him (Muralitharan) and so far our boys have played him reasonably well,” Woolmer told reporters.

“It’s surprising that he has not taken any wickets because he is a world-class bowler, but it’s a good sign for us keeping in mind the Test series.”

But Jayawardene brushed aside the suggestion Pakistan had mastered Sri Lanka’s most potent bowler.

“Murali has been bowling really well and any captain would be happy with a bowler that concedes just 30 runs in 10 overs,” said Jayawardene.

“We are not worried at all because we know that in the last match they were concentrating purely on survival on what was a very slow pitch.”

Sri Lanka and Pakistan will play a two-Test series starting on March 26.

Teams (from):

SRI LANKA: Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Russel Arnold, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekera, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Malinga Bandara, Dammika Prasad.