Mumbai, April 2: True to character, Sri Lanka skipper Kumara Sangakkara held his head high in defeat, giving the Indians due credit for the win in the 2011 ICC World Cup final.

Excerpts from the post-match media interaction

On Sri Lanka’s performance in the match, particularly the fielding

[It was a] big game, I think we put forward the best fielding side we had in the whole tournament. People don’t try to miss catches but you better take those half-chances in crucial games. But I think where we really lost the game was [with the] the way Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni batted. It was absolutely fantastic of them. They did exactly what was required of them and when you have such an awesome batting line-up, sometimes you feel that 270-300 [runs] are not enough.

On whether the Lankans had set India a defendable total

I think 275 [runs] was great. It was a very competitive target. In the final, runs on the board are very important but then again you also have to penetrate with the bowling attack. Lasith Malinga did the job for us with the first two wickets but with that Indian batting line-up you need to take at least three to four [wickets] by the time the first 20 overs are up. But I think Gautam Gambhir was outstanding - he is one of the best players I have seen play the game as a left-hander. He and Virat Kohli built a partnership [where] they scored a lot of boundaries that they probably shouldn’t have. And then MS [Dhoni] walked in and he understood exactly what he has to do and he did for India.

On the bowling attack and Mendis’ absence from it

Yeah, [Mendis] was an option that we were thinking of but we were forced to make changes in our line-up especially through injury to Angelo Matthews. When that happened, we wanted a bit more batting to compensate but Suraj Randiv, who came in as replacement to Angelo Matthews, has done exceptionally well against India. Even today he bowled really well. Unfortunately, he didn’t really [excel], but the guy really tried hard in this tournament. This is probably the one off-day for the bowling attack and India made us pay.

On what makes India a formidable opponent

I think it’s mainly due to their batting and Zaheer Khan. I have always stood firm on the point that after Chaminda Vaas and Wasim Akram, Zak’s right up there with those great bowlers. He has been a great, and he and Harbhajan Singh have basically shouldered the entire bowling attack [for India].

The batting is unbelievable - they probably have the best top seven in ODI cricket and MS Dhoni has been the epitome of Captain Cool. He’s very intelligent, very smart with the way he does things. And I think it’s a combination of factors that has really made them win in a lot of conditions, not just in home conditions. But we also are a side that has played very well against them. But playing at home gave them that inspiration that takes them one step further.

On the confusion during the toss

Yes, it was quite confusing. When the coin went up when the call was made, no one really heard the call. Mahi [MS Dhoni] had thought that I called wrong and then Jeff [Crowe] called it for me and we had to re-toss and make the call again. And then when it came down, we were pretty happy to have it go our way. Looking back at everything that happened in this tournament, today, batting first, getting that total on board, getting runs on board, was never enough the way the Indians batted.

On being familiar with World Cup finals given Sri Lanka’s illustrious history

We are quite familiar with the way we play our cricket but it doesn’t matter how often you play the World Cup final, you need to do something special. We had that in Mahela Jayawardene and they had that in [Gautam] Gambhir and [MS] Dhoni. So I think they were that just one step ahead of us.

On Mahela Jayawardene’s innings

Yes, it was an exceptional innings. He was due to convert [his starts into big scores] and he made [it big at a] wonderful stage. He really showed us what he can do and how good a class of player he is. Fortunately, he could get a hundred. It’s not a great feeling [to end up on the losing side] but we are very happy with the way he batted. He is the one who got us to where we were.

On the bowling

When we got the first two wickets, we weren’t tight enough with our bowling - we bowled quite a few loose balls. Gambhir and Kohli made us pay for that and unfortunately that’s the way the game went. MS really stuck out there and saw the tough period through and once they got ahead, when the run-rate rate almost matched the [asking] rate, it was very difficult to pull them back.

On the Wankhede wicket

I think it was a great wicket. It was ripe, it was good right throughout and it was turning a bit towards the middle part of the innings when the Indians were batting. But they are great players of spin and pace and we didn’t bother them too much out there today other than [Lasith] Malinga’s two wickets at the start.

On Muttiah Muralitharan

I think Murali is our best bowler. When it comes to spin, you need to have him on the park, keepers [need to] find the ball. The dew only came in quite late and it wasn’t like the New Zealand game; unfortunately this time we couldn’t use it as smartly as we could have. When you are bowling to guys like MS, Gambhir, Virat and Yuvraj [Singh], every loose ball they make it count and we bowled a few too many of those today.

On Murali not delivering for Lanka

I think it was one of the days where he hasn’t really done the job for us but maybe one in a hundred days that happens. We are going to miss him terribly. Unfortunately we couldn’t give him a great send off but that’s the way cricket goes. We all played today. We were beaten by a better side today - we have to accept that but move on now to more cricket.

On when the game slipped away

Once they got the hundred in the 18th or the 19th over, I felt that was a great effort for them after being two down [for 31]. We bowled quite a few loose deliveries in that particular period after getting the two wickets - that’s the time you really need to tighten up and bowl a good line and length. We couldn’t do that.

On Muttiah Muralitharan’s fitness

He is our best bowler even half fit. He was fine, he had a bit [of an] injury but he was almost at full fitness when he played today. I don’t think it was a huge issue.

On the way Sri Lanka played the tournament

We are going to be very proud of the way we played our cricket. We tried exceptionally hard to win games, [we have a] good side, good balance. [We had] an opportunity today we couldn’t convert but that doesn’t make the tournament a bad one, but [for the] finals. Three finals, 2007, 2009 in T20 and now this – you’ve got three finals. That means we need to lift ourselves a bit more and playing in the finals is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we didn’t grab the opportunity today.

On Angelo Matthews

There is no doubt about the quality of Angelo Matthews - not just his batting, his bowling is great too. Unfortunately, we couldn’t have him today, but that’s the way it goes. You get injuries, guys come in and replace [players]. Angelo will be fine soon. Knowing the guy, he his very strong mentally and he will come back very well.

On the coach

Trevor [Bayliss] [marshalled] us very well. He is grounded in common sense and old fashioned hard work. He is a man of few words, what he does say counts and we are going to miss him. He’s got a great record with Sri Lanka, he’s probably one of the most successful of our coaches. He is a wonderful human being - unfortunately we won’t have him any more. I think his heart is with us and he will continue to keep in touch with us.

On what he said to his teammates after the defeat

There is not really much that you can say, you need to let it sink in and once that’s done, you really start talking about it. It’s hugely disappointing but at same time it is satisfying [in a] strange sense. You understand the magnitude of what you have done to get here. Unfortunately, not converting it [to ultimate victory] - those are the questions that we need to answer.