Sangakkara: We were not up to the mark

Veteran Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara lamented his team's inability to stitch together any partnership of significance following Sri Lanka's nine-wicket defeat to South Africa in the first quarter-final at the Sydney Cricket Ground. South African spinners, Imran Tahir and JP Duminy picked up seven wickets between themselves as Sri Lanka collapsed from 69 for two to 133 all-out. Even Sangakkara, coming off the back of four successive hundreds found it difficult to get going on the two-paced Syndey wicket and fell for a 96-ball 45.

"We were playing with six batsmen today, and it was just a case of building partnerships," Sangakkara said. "But every time we tried to get something going, there was a wicket falling, and the disappointing thing was that we gave seven wickets to spin when they were a pace dominant attack. The wicket probably helped because it was a bit two paced at the start, but we should be disappointed with ourselves the way we played because we just weren't good enough to get the 250, 260-run score that would have really been difficult to chase on that track."

Wednesday's defeat marked Sangakkara's final game for Sri Lanka in ODIs having already announced his intention to retire from the 50-over format following the World Cup and the southpaw, arguably one of Sri Lanka's finest batsmen ever, said that it was disappointing to bow out of the World Cup in such a fashion but remained optimistic of the future of Sri Lanka cricket.

"Well, that's the way it goes. Someone has got to lose in a quarterfinal. It's a do-or-die situation. It could have been my last game, it could have been one of the games that I've played. I don't think that makes a huge difference or adds to the disappointment," he said. "I think it's just a case of just taking stock of what we did and how we did it. You know, there's another four-year wait for the next World Cup, and we have a lot of people in the dressing room who would have learned a lot from this World Cup, and that'll stand them in good stead going forward.

"I think the team is in great hands. Angelo Mathews has been such an impressive leader right throughout. I think Dilshan might be playing a few more seasons for Sri Lanka. We've had a few injuries this tour, but if you look at the players we have, you can't but be positive about the future."

Sangakkara singled out Lahiru Thirimanne for special praise while defending the team's decision to leave out Upul Tharanga and bring the in-form Thirimanne down the order in a bid to move aggressive opener Kusal Perera to open with Tillakaratne Dilshan, a ploy that backfired when Kusal fell early to Kyle Abbott. Thirimanne's brisk 41 however was the only saving grace in an otherwiselackadaisicalbatting performance.

"Thirimanne's someone who has really come into great strides. Every single time he plays he looks more and more impressive. He adds a lot of solidity wherever he bats," Sangakkara said. " I think selection as in most things in cricket is a matter of opinion and trust, and you trust the bowlers you select to do the best they can. Sometimes you've found one thing, sometimes you leave with more questions than answers, but then again, that's the way this game goes.

"I think everyone was pretty confident that we were good enough to do the job. Maybe Thiri (Thirimanne) could have stayed at one, maybe Upul (Tharanga)could have come in, but like I said, hindsight is 20/20. With the game as a whole, I don't think we were up to the mark."

Speaking about his unusually slow innings, Sangakkara, who completed 500 runs in the tournament, said that he was looking to try and fight it out until the batting powerplay as it wasn't easy to time the ball on the wicket. "I was just trying to see that new ball off," Sangakkara said about his slow start. "They were pushing for wickets. And once they had two, they were pushing to get three, maybe four wickets. The run rate in this format of the game now with the new rules, you can always catch up. You can be three and a half, four runs for the first 20 and the next 30 you can get 200 runs. That's the way this game has gone. It was just a case of building solid partnerships and batting 20, 25 overs without worrying too much about the rate.

"Thiri batted beautifully, but then unfortunately he got out. The next partnership didn't lost long. Angie and I lasted a bit, but then again, that stop start thing was a problem. When I walked in to bat and I was trying to hit the ball into the gaps, but sometimes you time one and it still wouldn't penetrate the field. Yeah it was disappointing not be able to go out there from ball one and be able to time the ball. I think Thiri did that the moment he walked in. He had a beautiful rhythm today. But like I said, no one really batted long enough," Sangakkara signed off.