New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori felt that the Tilakaratne Dilshan-Kumar Sangakkara partnership went too far out of hand for his side in their 5-wicket defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in the first semifinal of the World Cup at the R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday.
“Our whole game plan was to try and get them to slow down and put pressure. The Dilshan-Sangakkara partnership went on for too long, they scored too many runs at that time. We broke that but it was too late,” said Vettori in his last press conference as New Zealand skipper.
Vettori was however proud of the way the Black Caps fought back in the latter half of the game when they took out four late wickets to stir up the nest.
“I think we gave our all in that last quarter. We tried to keep as many people in the circle but when you're chasing under six an over, it becomes difficult for the bowling side.
“You have to keep taking wickets. We couldn't break that sixth wicket partnership. If we could, we would have got into Murali, Herath and Malinga. We thought we could have got into that tail but Mathews came out and took the game from us,” he said.
The left-arm spinner who took one wicket in the game said that he was disappointed at having lost the loss, but felt that the loss of quick wickets in the last ten overs while batting was where the game changed.
“It is obviously bitterly disappointing. The group fought so hard to stay in the tournament, but in the last game we've come up short. I think losing a number of wickets in the last 10 overs was the turning point.
“I was pleased with the fact that they fought with the ball and in the field to give us a second chance but in the end probably we were 20-30 runs short.
“I can only speak for this team and not for teams from yesteryears. Our top-order gave us a great platform, exactly how we wanted it. I think the Sri Lanka bowling attack was great. Each time we built a partnership, we lost a wicket. I think that's where we lost the game,” said Vettori.
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