Hambantota, July 24: Only three days ago India notched up a mighty 314 to win the first ODI against Sri Lanka at Hambabtota. In the second match, the same batting line-up collapsed for 138 batting at the very same ground and allowed Sri Lanka to draw level in the series.

Despite the two contrasting performances from his team, Indian skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was his usual calm self at the post-match presentation ceremony and took the nine-wicket defeat in his stride.

Excerpts:

On what led to India’s downfall

I think we lost too many wickets too quickly. We were too many down in the first 15 overs to come back into the game. After we lost Virat [Kohli], a couple of wickets fell in quick succession. Before the batsmen could assess the wicket – whether it is slow or fast – they got out. There’s no one to be blamed really but it was a disappointing day.

On the crushing defeat after a convincing win in the first ODI

It’s important to forget these things because this does happen once in a while, especially when you’re playing all year round. We have to learn from our mistakes and at the same time not keep it on our minds because it may have an impact in our coming performances.

On the prospect of playing the next two ODIs at the Premadasa Stadium

That is a good wicket and the good thing is there won’t be the amount of breeze that was here. It will be interesting as the series itself is very interestingly poised.

On Gautam Gambhir’s gritty knock

That was the good part of the match for us. Gautam batted really well – he was the only batsman who did well for us.

On the overall form of his team

In the last few games our top six batsmen have got runs and that’s a big positive for us. The bowlers too have done decently. Of course, once you put 138 on board, there’s not much that the bowlers can do.