India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni slammed his batsemen after the tri-series final loss to Sri Lanka in Dambulla on Saturday, saying they did not apply themselves.
"Out batsmen failed again. We got the starts but did not spend enough time in the middle. If we had batsmen to bat all the overs we could have chased down the target. We should have played the remaining four-five overs," Dhoni said, after India 74-run loss to Sri Lanka.
"It is sad we lost today. But credit to Sri Lanka, they played better cricket today. They batted and bowled well. They have been playing some good cricket throughout the series. The side which plays better cricket on that day should win. I have no complaints," added Dhoni, whose sequence of four consecutive series triumphs on Sri Lankan soil ended.
Dhoni said his side was also found short on two other departments of the game though the batting failure cost them the most.
"We could have done better in fielding and bowling also. Our bowlers gave the Sri Lankan batsmen a bit of width and that's one thing you don't want to do to Tillakaratne Dilshan. He smashed us all around the park. In contrast, their bowlers bowled really well and kept the pressure on us," said Dhoni.
The youngsters in the team failed to impress but Dhoni feels they must have learnt a lot from this tri-series.
"They must have learnt a lot from this tournament. The conditions in Dambulla are something which you don't get in the sub-continenet. So in a way it was a good learning curve for them," he said.
Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said his side excelled in all departments of the game.
"It was a good toss to win. The way the openers batted -- we talked a lot about getting through the first 10 overs. Mahela (Jayawardene) and Dilshan started well. Dilshan continued to bat really well," he said.
"Thisara Perera lengthens our batting but his bowling has been very impressive in the last couple of games. Champaka Ramanayake has to take a lot of credit. He has done a great job with the fast bowlers. The discipline in line and length has been the real key for us," said Sangaakkara.
Man-of-the-Match Dilshan said he was happy to score big today after failing to convert the starts he got in the last three innings.
"The last three innings I got a start but didn't capitalise. I thought today I should do it. We have lost the last three finals here against India. Everyone came and performed well today," he said.
India opener Virender Sehwag won the Man-of-the-Series award; he scored 268 runs from five matches, including a century in the tournament.
