JOIN USDhoni rues total failure
“We failed in all departments in this game. Chasing 215 is always tough. In fact we started off well during the chase, but we could not contain them at 190 or 200 and those 15-20 runs matters a lot in this format of the game. Only thing we can say that nothing worked for us,” Dhoni said in the post-match press-do.
However, the Jharkhand player did not blame the batsmen for the total collapse -- from 93 for two to 115 for six -- that ended India’s chances in the match. “Well, these things happen sometimes as many of our shots -- myself, Yuvraj, Yusuf -- went to the fielders.
We also dropped catches, and unfortunately, those batsmen we had dropped went on to score some crucial runs whether it was Jayasuriya or Dilshan and all those runs mattered in the end,” he said.
Dhoni said Rohit Sharma’s condition was still getting assessed by physio. The Mumbai batsman fell awkwardly on his shoulder while attempting to dive into the crease to avoid a run out, but without any avail.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said his outfit needed to be more ruthless in the subsequent matches. “We have won quite easily here, and all of us are happy for the fact that we have made a bright beginning to the series.
“But we leaked a few runs in the death overs when Nehra was batting. We need to counter that being more ruthless and bundle the team out in such situations,” he said.
The left-hander, who was adjudged man of the match for his radiant 78, patted his team for staying together when Gautam Gambhir was going all guns blazing along with Dhoni for a rollicking second wicket alliance.
“When Gambhir and Dhoni were batting we needed a wicket at that stage, and we managed to grab that and guys like Sanath (Jayasuriya) and Angelo Mathews came up and bowled brilliant spells. They bowled a lot of yorkers, and Indians needed to score a boundary per over at that stage, and that also helped our cause,” Sangakkara said.
Sangakkara also praised Jayasuriya for taking two crucial wickets. “He is a performer for nearly 20 years, and hopefully he will continue to contribute more in the coming matches,” he added.