Ricky Ponting insisted there was still a "good feeling" in the Australia dressing room despite another morale-sapping setback in their Ashes build-up.

Ponting's side were outplayed by Sri Lanka at the Sydney cricket Ground today, the tourists sealing a 2-0 series win - their first on Australian soil - after cruising to a 29-run victory under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

The hosts have now lost seven successive matches across all three formats, but Ponting was adamant there was no cause for alarm with the first Ashes Test getting under way in under three weeks.

He said: "We are just far enough off to be losing games of cricket at the moment.

"We have had seven games in a row now where we have had opportunities to win games and we haven't got there.

"All departments are a little bit wanting at the moment."

The Tasmanian refused to use the hype surrounding the Ashes as a reason for their poor form, adding: "You can't use that as an excuse.

"We have known for a long time about this series and how important it was for us to play well here leading into the Ashes and we haven't done that over the last two games.

"We have the chance now in Brisbane (in the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka) to get things back on track and a bit of state cricket after that.

"We have to start winning games, it's really important to have that attitude and feeling of winning games around the dressing room and we haven't done that for a while now."

Ponting remained upbeat looking forward though.

"There is a good feeling around the group," he said.

"We had a good chat after the game in Melbourne and we talked about areas of our game we had to improve on and unfortunately we haven't done that as well as we would have liked tonight.

"It's about time we got back to playing the brand of cricket we know we are capable of and if we do that I am sure we will win some games."

Sri Lanka made 213 for three from 41.1 overs before inclement weather halted their innings - Upul Tharanga top-scoring with an unbeaten 86 - with Australia's reply falling well short.

Their target was set under the Duckworth-Lewis method to 244 from 39 overs, and then revised again to 240 from 38 after more rain.

It proved to be beyond them as Sri Lanka's bowlers, led by the evergreen Muttiah Muralitharan, strangled the Australia reply and the game was over long before Australia were dismissed for 210.

Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara was delighted with his side's display and, in particular, claiming their first series win in Australia.

"It means a lot," he admitted. "This is a stage we always wanted to get to where everyone does what is asked of them and you can't ask any more of the players.

"They have grown in stature and self-belief.

"Sri Lankan cricket seems to be in really good hands going forward."

On Muralitharan, who took two for 30 from seven overs, he added: "What more can he do? To win the series in Australia on his last tour here.

"We are thankful to have a champion like him in the side."