Tendulkar stole match from us, says Sangakkara

Shirajiv Sirimane in India

Sri Lanka lost the third one day game against India in Cuttack last Monday in the last 30 overs of the match said Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara. He said that they had the Indians under control in the first 20 overs but could not keep the pressure going. “Tendulkar stole the match from us,” he said.

He also said that similarly when they were batting the first 20 overs were very productive.

“However once again we failed to hold on to this advantage as we lost wickets at regular intervals.” Sangakkara said that they missed Mathews who is now nursing an injury in Colombo as he was a player who could balance the team. “However it is not an excuse as a team should be able to surge ahead,” he explained.

Commenting on Sehwag he said that he captained well in the absence of Dhoni suspended for two games for a slow over rate. “He never lost his cool.”

Indian stand in skipper Sehwag said that the bowlers were up to their mark in the latter parts of the game bowling wicket to wicket. This was the reason they we could restrict Sri Lanka to a manageable score,” he added. Commenting on Dilshan’s early demise he said that they were happy to see him back.

“When he is batting we have hardly any way of stopping him,” he said. Sehwag said that Tendulkar had played cricket for over 20 years and his experience also helped a great deal for the victory. Tendulkar made an unbeaten 96 and was named man of the match.