"It was just bad batting," admitted Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara soon after his side had suffered an embarrassing seven-wicket defeat against India in the third One-Day International in Cuttack on Monday.
An inexplicable batting collapsed had ensured the visitors had slipped from a seemingly comfortable position -- 165 for one in the 23rd over -- to be dismissed for 239 inside their stipulated quota of overs (44.2 to be precise).
No wonder their captain was at a loss of words after the match.
"At 165 for one, and with just about 25 overs to go, it was just a case of batting out the remaining overs," he grimaced, before adding, "We did the hard work in the first 20 overs and then it was all India in the next 30 overs."
Sangakkara couldn't hide his disappointment when asked if his side was over reliant on the contributions made by their top two or three batsmen like Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga and himself.
"If the batsmen are in form they got to contribution a bit more," he explained. "But it is a pity that the others didn't contribute."
Now that the Sri Lankan batting seems to be in shambles, does he regret the fact that they had dropped veteran Sanath Jayasuriya from the playing XI in the last couple of matches.
"The two openers (Dilshan and Tharanga) have done well," said Sangakkara, defending the decision. "When we embarked on the tour to India we had decided Sanath (Jayasuriya) would bat in the middle order at No.7 in the ODIs. And that option is still open," he added.
Besides batting, the Sri Lankan bowling has struggled to adjust to the Indian conditions and the fact that a few of their key bowlers have had to return home following injuries hasn't helped matters either.
"I don't think either side has made an impact with the ball," said Sangakkara, before quickly adding, "Besides India in the last 30 overs of this match."
And what is his opinion of the manner in which his Indian counterpart, Virender Sehwag, led the side in the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
"I think he captained very well and kept his cool throughout," said Sangakkara. "He has a no nonsense approach to his batting and he brought that into his captaincy," he added.
