Johannesburg, September 26: Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara deprecated the wicket of the New Wanderer Stadium where his side lost by six wickets to England in a Champions Trophy match here today.
Sri Lanka struggled to 212 all out as England pacers exploited the seamer friendly pitch to steer their side to an advantageous position.
“The wicket was not best for one-day cricket especially when you want to attract fans. It was not a typical one-day track. It looked like first day of a Test match,” Sangakkara said after the match.
“Still it`s up to us to perform in different conditions.”
The stumper batsman extolled his batsmen, who he said put up a brave fight.
“It was a good total. From where we were to build 212 was fantastic. The way (Thilan) Samaraweera, (Thilina) Kandmabi and Angelo (Mathews) batted was great. I still believe we played well,” he said.
Sangakkara also praised his spin duo of Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralithran.
“They bowled well, specially Mendis. The effort was great. Probably we were one seamer short but spin has always been our main strength so we will always rely on them,” he said.
Winning captain Andrew Strauss was a happy man but said they were not going to drop guard after today`s win.
“We played well. Did well with the new ball. The key was not to lose too may wickets, play sensibly and avoid rash shots. Paul Collingwood played great, Owais Shah played an important innings and Eoin Morgan was excellent,” he said.
“I am very pleased with the win and it was a very professional chase. I am delighted there is hard work to do,” he added.
Collingwood, chosen Man-of-the-Match for his excellent 46-run knock, said aggression was key to his performance today.
“When you contribute to team`s win, it`s great feeling. Today`s was a great team performance. The chase was difficult and aggressive batting helped. Morgan played well and wicket also suited our bowlers,” he said.
—Agencies