A disappointed Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday said his side was completely outplayed in the Test series and blamed the 0-2 loss on his bowlers' inability to either contain or dismiss India's formidable batting line-up.
Sri Lanka went down by an innings and 24 runs to the home team in the third and final Test, their second successive innings defeat.
"We were out-batted and out-bowled, mostly out-bowled. We created chances right along but catching at crucial times let us down. We were never able to continuously put pressure on the Indian batsmen," he said.
"Our bowling lacks penetration. In the second Test, we bowled only five maiden overs in the entire (Indian) innings. That just goes to show that it's always tough. If you can't keep a batsman down for more than an over from one side, then it becomes very difficult to exert continuous pressure," he added.
Sangakkara, who scored a fighting hundred in the second innings of the third and final Test, was also critical of his team's fielding.
"It's more the singles and stopping the singles and keeping batsmen on strike. If singles are going as well as the boundaries, then you are in a bit of trouble. We tried as many fielding options as we could, but it didn't work," he explained.
Looking back at the series, Sangakkara said the bowlers did not create enough chances. "Our fast bowlers sometimes created chances but then onwards it was a tough graft. They (India) were always ahead of the game when it came to their batting but (Tillakaratne) Dilshan, Mahela, (Jayawardene), Prasanna (Jayawardene), Thilan (Samaraweera) and Angelo (Mathews) batted well and tried hard. But it was not to be. You have got to be realistic about it and say yes we were outplayed," he said.
Talking about the final Test, Sangakkara said once his team lost six wickets on the fourth day it was very difficult to save the match. "We wanted to try and prolong it as long as possible, but once you lost six wickets the final day is going to be tough, but everyone wanted to fight as long as possible," he said.
Praising India opener Virender Sehwag for his devastating knock of 293 that demoralised Lanka, Sangakkara said his team could still have come back from the flogging, but for his rival counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni's hundred at the end.
"In this Test match it was Sehwag's batting, and Dhoni's hundred was influential in putting the final nail in the coffin. Sehwag's 293 was definitely the major turning point. If they had got a lead of less than 50 runs it would have been a very interesting game especially going into the fifth day," Sangakkara said.
Sangakkara said India deserved the 2-0 series verdict, but insisted his team was better than what the scoreline might suggest. "2-0 is a realistic score line, the way the Indians played and the way we played, especially in the last two Test matches. But we are a better side than what the score line says we got to accept the fact that if we don't play well enough we are going to be placed in situations like these," he said.
"We need to put big totals on the board but at the same time you always got to find ways to bowl the opposition out under those totals. In this case in all three Test matches we were unable to do that," he rued.
He also felt that his star bowler Muttiah Muralitharan was handicapped by the SG brand ball. "One thing was the inability to bowl with the seam up with the SG ball. That handicapped him with the bounce and the amount of turn that he can expect off the pitch," Sangakkara said.
"That's probably the main factor and the Indian side is the best side in the world that plays spin. Those are the two main reasons why he hasn't been successful (In India)," he pointed out.
Complimenting his Indian counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership qualities, Sangakkara felt the home team skipper had some distance to go before his Test batting qualities can be assessed properly.
"His main forte is ODI cricket. In Test matches he had a shorter career and has not had as big an impact as he had in the first game and in this one. In Test cricket there's quite a long way for him to go," he said.
"He is a good leader and he has been handling the Indian team really well to get them where they have gone now," he said in praise of the home team captain," he added.
