Failure to handle pressure situations the biggest cause of World T20 loss: Mahela Jayawardene

Mahela Jayawardene, who decided to quit as Twenty20 captain, has admitted that his team’s failure to handle pressure situations became the biggest reason behind Sri Lanka’s embarrassing loss in the World T20 finale against West Indies.

"I think we tried very hard, but this match changed in three or four overs in the middle. In the pressure situations we couldn’t control the match," Jayawardene said in the post-match conference after their 36-run defeat last night.

"Marlon Samuels batted really well and he took it away from us a little bit. But when we were put under pressure, we didn’t react well to that. When those small mistakes add up, that’s where you lose a match like a final, and that’s what happened to us,"
he added.

After losing the toss, the Lankans bowled wonderfully in the beginning. West Indies were at 32 after the first 10 overs, and they made excellent progress afterwards.

The Sri Lankans failed to tackle Marlon Samuels, who took his side to a handsome total of 137 with the help of a splendid 78-run knock. Darren Sammy also batted well at the end, and added crucial 26 runs.

In reply, the hosts collapsed on 101. Apart from Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Nuwan Kulasekara, no batsman could cross the double figures. Saddened by his side’s yet another final defeat, the skipper shared:

"We played well right until the final. Every defeat has been different. How we approached a couple of the finals, we did not start well and we kept chasing the game and it was tough for us to get back into it.

"I thought today we started well. Marlon took a gamble after the 12th over and it paid off for him. Those were individual performances that you have to give credit to. Under pressure he put his hand up and performed and that crucial moment he controlled."

Although Jayawardene has decided to step down as T20 skipper, he will continue to lead the side in the ODI and Test competitions. Sri Lanka’s next big challenge is to face Australia in December this year.

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Oct 8 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry