Jayawardene's men have won seven ODIs in a row against England

The hosts posted 269-7 on a slow pitch before bowling England out for 150 to go 1-0 up in their five-match series.

"When we saw the wicket we realised we had to be patient and make sure we kept wickets in hand," Jayawardene said.

"We knew anything above 250-260 would be very competitive but if we'd played to get 300 we would have lost too many wickets and struggled to get to 250."

Interview: Man of the match Farveez Maharoof

Interview: England skipper Paul Collingwood

Sanath Jayasuriya (41) and Upul Tharanga (40) put on 71 before Jayawardene hit 66 to help lift his team's total.

Debutant Phil Mustard's brisk 27 got England off to a good start but once he was caught off Farveez Maharoof (4-31) the tourists' innings fell away badly.

I just pitched it in the right areas and let the ball do the talking Man of the match Farveez Maharoof

The only concern was the performance of veteran seamer Chaminda Vaas, who conceded 32 runs in five wicketless overs.

"Overall the way we handled the situation was very good. It was an all-round batting effort, the bowlers did a brilliant job with early wickets and the fielding was pretty sharp but we can still improve," Jayawardene added.

"When you have four [pace bowling] options you can give other guys a go. Vaas has been a brilliant campaigner for us and he went for few runs this time but Maharoof put his hand up and showed what he's capable of doing .

"We always had attacking options so it's easy for a captain to throw the ball to them and ask if they can deliver on the day."

Maharoof said: "Mustard was hitting the ball well and I just pitched it in the right areas and let the ball do the talking.

"I just kept it simple and when you take the pace off the ball it's hard to score. You should always vary your pace, especially in the subcontinent."

Hopefully he will be 100% by the last two games Jayawardene on Muttiah Muralitharan

Sri Lanka achieved their crushing win without star off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who was ruled out with a biceps injury.

And Jayawardene said he was not expecting him back for the next two games, also in Dambulla, on Thursday and Sunday.

"He's pretty keen to come back but we have to do the sensible thing and see if he's 100%," the skipper said.