JOIN USPoor fielding cost us dear: Dhoni
Having amassed 301, the hosts failed to defend the total with lapses in fielding costing them dear at the end of the match. “Of course that (poor fielding) has been the case with us for a while and it gets highlighted only when we lose. If we win it gets buried somehow. This is the best bowling and batting side we can have, but unfortunately this is not the best fielding side,” observed Dhoni in his post-match comments.
The skipper also rued not having the good start either while batting or bowling. “We didn’t get a good start to our innings and then when we got one good partnership, we kept losing wickets after that. It was the same thing while bowling. We couldn’t get any breakthroughs and when we were able to get some quick wickets towards the end, it was too late,” he noted.
Tillakaratne Dilshan produced the second century in as many matches and the right-hander was delighted that this time his knock helped his team win. “I had to take my chances because we were chasing 300-plus. I am happy I got some runs and happier because we won this time,” he said.
Sri Lanka survived some tense moments after the back to back dismissals of Dilshan and Jayawardene before scraping through, but the Lankan opener said he was confident the middle-order was capable of pulling it off. “We knew we had Angelo (Mathews) and (Thilina) Kandamby to follow and they are quite capable of finishing off which they did,” he pointed out.
He admitted that the wicket on offer in Nagpur was a good one to bat on. “It was a flat wicket like any other Indian wicket though it had some bounce and turn. But it wasn’t that difficult to bat on it. In India it’s always the batsmen who dominate and as a bowler you need to bowl in the right areas,” he offered.
Man-of-the-match Dilshan said he would never forget this year in which he had hit 10 centuries."I am having a great year. I have scored more than 1000 runs this year. It is a truly unforgettable year and I am thoroughly enjoying my batting," he said.