This was the worst performance under my stint, Gaekwad

A dejected and tired looking Indian cricket coach, Anshuman Gaekwad, told reporters that the poor showing by his team against Sri Lanka in the Coca-Cola Cup final at Sharjah on Sunday was the worst performance ever under his stint.

After the team's arrival in the early hours of Monday, Gaekwad, said, "We were outplayed in all departments of the game by the superior Lankans and I probably think this was the worst performance by my team in the recent past."

"I have no excuses to make and we were clearly outplayed by the Lankans in this tournament," he added.

"However, this (getting all out for 54) does not happen everyday and one must not look too deep into this performance as our boys played well here as well as in the ICC Knock-out tourney at Nairobi before succumbing to the pressure in the finals of both the tournaments," the former opening batsman said.

"The boys should not get discouraged with this performance and should take it as a learning proccess for the future tournaments," he added.

"We have quite a few talented youngsters who are still learning the tricks of the trade and playing against tough opponents will help them mature fast.

"The boys should leave this defeat behind them and concentrate on the one-off Test match against Bangladesh at Dhaka which will also be my last assignment as the coach.

"I only hope that this performace will not discourage the youngsters in the team and they will take this defeat in their stride and strive to do better in the future," he said.

About his last assignment as coach, Gaekwad said, "We will not take Bangladesh lightly even though they are playing their first Test match."

"I also think it will be a good experience for the youngsters to play at Dhaka on a different surface after Nairobi and Sharjah," he added.

The skipper of the Indian cricket team, Saurav Ganguly, was not available for comments.

Mail Cricket Editor