Thaindian News

Colombo, March 30 (IANS) Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara praised his team for reaching the second consecutive World Cup final but added that what counts is winning the final.

The 1996 champions, who beat New Zealand by five wickets in the semifinal Tuesday, had lost to Australia in the 2007 final in the Caribbean.

“It means a lot to our cricket. It is a goal that we set had for ourselves and we are happy that we have reached the final. It is a special moment for us. But we have to quickly put this victory behind and look ahead when we are in the plane tomorrow. We have to focus on winning the final, that’s what counts,” said Sangakkara at the post-match press conference.

Sangakkara said his team takes a lot of pride in playing for the country.

“There are times when there is talk of the Indian Premier League, the money involved and everything. But let me tell you, we take pride in playing for our country,” Sangakkara said holding his blue team jersey.

“If you go to the dressing room, you will see that every player has a flag on their seat. It is because they take so much pride in playing for the country.”

Sangakkara said it was a good sign that the team has chased and won on both occasions in the knockout games.

“Yes, chasing a total gives you confidence. We had to chase because we lost the toss, but it is a good sign.”

Sangakkara, however, stood by the inconsistent middle-order, saying they have done their job.

“It is not the middle-order that collapsed. The wickets were lost in the top order. The middle-order came and did their job. Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews all chipped in when there was a lot of tension.”

The captain instead took the blame on himself for making it look like a struggle in the end.

“Dilshan was batting well and my job was to hang around with him. When we were two wickets down we should have won comfortably. I should not have got out at that stage. It made it difficult for the others.

“We should not have exposed our lower middle-order and this we need to guard against in the final. But we are happy to close the game,” he said.

Sangakkara lavished praised on his bowlers for bowling out the Black Caps for 217.

“Our variety in bowling has been great. Our fast bowlers and spinners are good. We did well to bowl them under 220 as they looked set to be scoring 240 plus. The variety in our bowling is tough to face.”

Asked about whom he wants to meet in the final, Sangakkara said: “That is not in our hands. There is going to be a great semifinal tomorrow. Everybody looks forward to an India-Pakistan match and it is going to be great.”