Sri Lanka's brutalisation of the Queensland Bulls showed plenty of hallmarks of a team on top of their game, but century-scoring captain Kumar Sangakkara says his team still have improvements to make before they take on the Aussies.
After an unconvincing start with the bat, the Sri Lankans, through Sangakkara (110 from 95) and Chamara Silva (75 from 70), fought back hard to post an imposing total of 7-301.
In reply, the Queenslanders made an impressive start before the visiting bowlers hit their straps and ripped through the top order, taking 4-6 on the way to bowling the Bulls out for a paltry 189.
"It was something that we wanted to do, follow our strategy, our batting and bowling and fielding plans, and it was nice to see that we managed to achieve most of them out on the field."
"There's still a lot of improvement, but I thought (what was good was) the way we batted, especially getting through those first few overs when the wicket was slightly soft and still had a bit in it, and the way we consolidated and put up a god total, and the first 15 overs that we bowled we managed to make some inroads into their batting."
"If that's true (that the Gabba will be the bounciest pitch we play on), it's even more heartening, but everything is different each game you play, so we can't just take this for granted and say that this was a great performance."
It's hard to imagine a better way to start a tour than with a 112-run victory, but the Sri Lankans have been clear about their goal to register a first ever series win against Australia in Australia, and Sangakkara said that their great start would mean nothing if they couldn't stay consistent.
"We can't make this a one-off performance, this is the sort of consistency we look for every time we go out to play, so a lot of brushing up to do, a lot of hard work in the nets, and hopefully there are little areas we can get better in," he said.
The Sri Lankans' next game will be against New South Wales in another 50-over match on Sunday, and Sangakkara said that while it's too early to say for sure, the Sri Lankans are likely to field a near full-strength side, after Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga, and Muttiah Muralidaran were all rested for the opening fixture.
"I think they'll all be fighting for that game, and we'll probably play our full team there," Sangakkara said.
"All credit to the guys who played today, even though some of them might miss out on Sunday, I think they haven't done anything wrong to be left out of the team."
"We're trying to build a mood where everyone is looking to contribute in a good way, and everyone's united and working towards one goal, but at the same time understanding that performance counts every time they go out."