The Sri Lankans don't say it on your face like the Australians. Their aggression is tempered with modesty, and Tom Moody is fast learning the language.
He discounted Sri Lanka's dominance over India in the one-day triangular series at home earlier this year and the recent turmoil in Indian cricket, and said that the hosts carry a certain home advantage into the upcoming seven-match series.
"India is playing on home soil and they know the conditions very well," said the Sri Lanka coach during a press meet at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai on Friday. "But that is not going to stop us from going into the series with a lot of confidence."
Sri Lanka will play a warm-up game against Mumbai Cricket Association XI at the Wankhede stadium on Saturday before commencing their seven-match ODI tour of India. The last time Sri Lanka played in India was in the Pepsi Cup in 1998-99.
Moody, 40, shrugged off the claim that the Indian batting would be weaker since there is no Sourav Ganguly, no Mohammed Kaif and a yet-to-be-tested but match-fit Sachin Tendulkar.
"It is still a very good batting side," he said. "There is a lot of depth in their batting. But then we are also concentrating on what we want to do and not be too worried with the opposition. We hope to take back something positive from here."
The former Australia cricketer, with his crisp answers, kept out the leading enquiries about his 'personal battles' with India coach Greg Chappell.
"The matches won't have anything to do with us. The contest is between the players and not the coaches," he quipped.
Moody was in the competition to take over as India coach after John Wright stepped down. Chappell eventually won the post and Moody moved on to become Sri Lanka's coach.
"I have enjoyed my time as the Sri Lankan coach," said Moody, who has faced the fury of some of the Sri Lankan batsmen during his playing days.
"It is a very good bunch of players. The fitness levels of the side has gone up, though I was lucky to have a team that was well-developed is that area. We are also getting better and better at fielding."
The only worrying factor for the 'fit' Sri Lankan unit, is the recovery of Sanath Jayasuriya. The all-rounder suffered a freak accident while playing water polo earlier in the week that hampered his recovery progress from a shoulder injury. But captain Marvan Atapattu expressed confidence that Jayasuriya will play in the entire series.
"He should in play the warm-up match tomorrow," said Atapattu. "He hasn't had enough batting practice. The injury won't have an effect on Sanath's batting, but we are not sure whether he will bowl."
The Sri Lanka coach asserted that the warm-up game on Saturday will be important.
"We take every game seriously," he said sternly, and glared around to muffle the smirks at the cliche.
For Moody, overcoming the tough tour itinerary, of playing seven ODIs back to back, will be a very big challenge for the team.
"It is an interesting challenge and we have our method to approach it. India is a very big country and travel can be demanding, but it is something we cannot avoid."
He also said his experience and that of some of the team members in India would be valuable in countering India's home advantage.
