Sports

Our fielding let us down

By Suresh Kumar, Managing Director Lanka Indian Oil Company:
I think Sri Lanka played well throughout the tournament and even in the final they put up a very good fight. They scored well and then went on to take two important wickets.
The absence of Angelo Mathews was a disadvantage and India was playing in their home conditions.
It may not have been Sri Lanka’s day, but the overall performance of Sri Lanka has been very good.

By Ruwan Ranatunga, UPFA Politician and brother of former Sri Lanka Cricket Captain Arjuna Ranatunga:
Though the Lankan team did not win, as a team with a lot of young faces, they made it to the final. This is a huge achievement and India did not have it easy in the final.
As Kumar Sangakkara is a batsman, the captaincy put a lot of pressure on him; it was the same with Arjuna.
If Sri Lanka had scored around 320 runs there would have been a tough tussle. The Indian team proved that they can perform excellently without Sachin Tendulkar.
MS Dhoni had the winning run in 2011 World Cup, like my brother did in 1996. He leads his team excellently with a lot of patience.

By UNP MP Sujeewa Senasinghe:
Hats off to Mahela for his performance and the Indians played brilliantly. Sri Lanka’s middle order should be stronger in order to face future matches.

By Badrani Jayawardena, Municipal Commissioner, Colombo Municipal Council:
Our team did their best at the World Cup finale and Kumar Sangakkara’s leadership piloted the team towards the final. He should remain as the captain for the next World Cup as well.
Though the defeat is disappointing, we can be happy about the World Cup going to our neighbours.

By Fazil Marija (Sri Lanka rugby player):
It was disappointing to lose an important game. We did well in our innings to build it up to a competitive total but I think India played better than us and they deserve this win. But as sportsmen we should be very proud our cricket team who went all the way to the final game of a World Cup.

By Gopalakrishnan Gopikrishna (Teacher/umpire/cricket coach - Jaffna):
I thought Sri Lanka missed a few vital chances while fielding. From my point of view I think bringing in Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara and Chamara Kapugedara was not a wise decision. We could have played Ajantha Mendis as he holds an impressive bowling record against India. He also has been bowling tight throughout the tournament though not having many wickets. Had we grabbed the wicket of Gautam Gambhir when India was sitting pretty badly at 31 for two wickets, I think it would have done a big change. But we are proud of our team.

By Rev Bishop Duleep de Chickera, Colombo Metropolitan’s Commissary and Vicar General of the Diocese:
I thought Sri Lanka played exceptionally well in the final. They need to be congratulated for coming all the way to the final of a World Cup tournament. Mahela Jayawardena had a brilliant knock to put Sri Lanka in a strong position. At the end of the day it was the tactics and shrewdness that came to act and I thought the matured team won the battle. My congratulations tor both teams.

By Rukmal Perera (Media coordinator of FFSL):
Even to become runners-up in a World Cup championship is not an easy achievement. It’s the best two teams of the championship that reaches this crucial stage. Yesterday we won the toss, batted very well, took a few early breaks but India played better than us. The entire football fraternity wishes to thank the Sri Lanka cricket team for reaching the final. We are proud of them and we know that we can do better in 2015.

By Romesh Kaluwitharana (Member of 1996 World Cup wining team/Sri Lanka A coach):
We were unfortunate to lose an all important game after reaching the final. We did well but our fielding was not very good yesterday. In addition I thought the ball was a bit slippery due to the moisture and it did not help our bowlers. Lasith Malinga who usually causes the breakthroughs found it hard to grip the ball and it did not help with his swingers. I thought we did well but India did better.
As a member of the 1996 World Cup winning team we are proud of our cricketers. We have talented cricketers and our future will be better. Becoming the second best team does not mean that we are not the best team. It was just a game but it was a big game. We should not forget the way our team performed throughout the tournament. We should also thank Murali for the wonderful memories he gave us during his illustrious two decades. May he have a wonderful future and at the same time I thank all the players for making for their excellentperformances..

By Maurice De La Zilwa (Premier cricket umpire):
Basically India outplayed us yesterday. Sri Lanka made a few vital strategic changes like bringing in Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara and Chamara Silva but it didn’t work out the way as planned. The decisions were made for the best but then again fielding was a point to ponder. We dropped the vital catch of Gautam Gambhir when he was just new to the crease and he went on to play a match winning knock. We batted well under pressure but India handled the situations better than us to win the final.

By Lasitha Gunaratne (Secretary SLRFU):
It was really unfortunate but we put up a very good fight. It’s not easy to qualify for a World Cup final and we should take the positives of this game rather than thinking of the negative aspects. At the end the better team won and it was not our day. But we should be very proud of our cricketers.

By Dhammika Sudarshana (Cricket coach - Galle):
Both teams were equally good. But overall India played better than Sri Lanka. They played with minimal errors whilst we committed costly fielding mistakes. The total was also a very good one to defend but it was India’s day. As Sri Lankans we should be proud of our team’s performance throughout the tournament and the final.

By R. Krishnarajan (Ranga) (Tourist hotel owner – Arugam Bay):
It was disappointing to see Sri Lanka end up losers in the final after putting up a very brave fight whilst batting first. The total was reasonable enough to defend. In return Lasith Malinga did a very good job but other bowlers did considerably well too. Our fielding, however was not very good and that let us down. The whole area of Arugam Bay and Pottuvil was in a carnival mood but as the game reached the end it all diminished. We are proud of team and should thank and congratulate them for reaching the final of the World Cup.

By Javin Thomas (Colombo):
It was disappointing but the best team won. All Sri Lankans must have thought that we could have done better but it is the 11 players on the field who has to handle the pressure in the middle. As fellow countrymen we are very proud of them, for representing our nation in a world cup final.

By Budvin Jayasuriya:
It’s heartbreaking for most Sri Lankans to lose a very good game after a good fight. I thought 20 more runs from our side would have done a world of difference. We could have made up those runs from the fielding and missed catches. All in all we are proud of the team for letting the world know that we are a team fit to play in the big league. Good job done and good luck to the cricket team.

By Janith Leanage:
The game was really good right to the end. But I guess we weren’t good enough in fielding. Sri Lanka did well in batting and bowling. The positive side of the story now is that Sri Lanka is the second best cricket team of the world. We fought well though things went the other way.

By Bilal Marikkar (Schoolboy from Kandy):
It was a tough match. India was good in their batting throughout the game. Even though we got two early wickets we failed to capitalize on the situation but India did well do turn the match in their favour. In addition we missed a few catches and run outs and India gained confidence from our mishaps.

By Vinu Wijeratne (14) of Girls High School Kandy:
India always had a chance of winning as their batting and bowling was far superior. Dhoni was in a class by himself with his unbeaten 91. I am glad that Tendulkar was out for 18. I am a supporter of Trinity cricket as my brother attends TCK.

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