Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Sunday night that his team lost the Twenty20 World Cup final to Sri Lanka in the middle overs during their batting, and added that Sri Lanka executed their plans very well, especially during the death overs.
Speaking after match, Dhoni said the fact that India could score only 19 runs in the last four overs was an indication of the bowling skill of the Lankans, and the inability of the Indian batters to get bat to ball.
He said the Indian batsmen tried their best to get going, but it was one of those days when starts couldn't be converted.
He said that of all the Indian batsmen, only one-drop and vice-captain Virat Kohli appeared the most fluent.
India scored 130, which Dhoni felt was 10-15 runs short.
He also said that in the first few overs of the game, the ball stopped early on when coming off the pitch, which hampered run-scoring.
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He stressed on the fact in Twenty20 cricket, the last four overs is the time to really score as many runs as you, and the Indians just failed to capitalise in this area.
He gave credit to the Sri Lankan bowlers, saying they executed their plans brilliantly, especially the wide yorkers, which were perfect. As far as other balls were concerned, they were right on the mark, he added.
Replying to India's score of 130, Sri Lanka scored 134 for the loss of four wickets. Kumar Sangakarra top-scored for the winners with an unbeaten 52.