Sangakkara salutes youngsters

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara hailed his team's fighting spirit following their victory over India in the triangular one-day series final in Dhaka.

Fast bowlers Nuwan Kulasekara and Chanaka Welegedara shared seven between them as Sri Lanka bowled India out for 245.

India's bowlers fought back in the field, but half-centuries from Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene and a good knock from Tillakaratne Dilshan helped Sri Lanka clinch a four-wicket victory with nine deliveries to spare.

Sri Lanka went into the final having lost a number of close matches against India in the recent past, but Sangakkara was pleased with the way his young team held their nerve.

"The chat in the dressing room at the interval today was something we always talk about - assess the conditions, get a good steady start, try and score runs and build partnerships. That has been our mantra," he said.

"It is unfortunate that Upul Tharanga got out, but we managed to build partnerships and the experience in the middle really helped us.

"I'm very happy with the way the guys reacted under pressure, held their nerve at crucial times, but most of all I'm pleased with the way the young guys have held themselves together as team.

"They have really gelled well and that is what is going to hold us in good stead going forward."

Sangakkara praised his bowlers for paving the way for victory and was pleased with the improvements in his team's fielding.

"I've always believed we have match-winners in our side and when it mattered today in the final, every one of them fired," he said.

"The bowling unit was fantastic upfront, they gave us a great start and Mahela Jayawardene finished it off brilliantly.

"The bowlers have been through the mill in the recent series in India and in some of the games here, but all credit for them because they never lost faith.

"They have tried really hard and although we could have been a little tighter in the middle in this game, it's great to win.

"The fielding is something we have always spoken about especially in the last few months where we haven't been at the greatest with our fielding.

"But slowly, with some of the new blood coming in, they have really improved."

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni believed Ashish Nehra's injury in his second over hampered his team's chances, but also admitted his side's batting was not up to scratch.

"The shot selection by our batsmen wasn't really great," he said.

"In this series we have had good batting pitches so far, but this was one of those tracks which had offered some bounce.

"We should have been careful, but we were not, though at the end of the day we had a decent total.

"I think if Nehra hadn't gone out with that injury, we would have fancied our chances.

"There was no dew today, there was reverse swing for the fast bowlers and turn for the spinners, so we could have really made it hard for the opposition if we had Nehra around."

Dhoni was pleased with the performance of his bowlers.

"The bowlers are getting back into form and that's a huge positive for us," he said.

"We are a side that relies a lot on our batting, but it's good to see the bowlers perform."

Icc Ranking of 2009

ICC Ranking for Top 10 Cricket Team in ODI:
Rank Team Rating
1 Australia 128
2 India 124
3 South Africa 121
4 New Zealand 110
5 Pakistan 109
6 England 106
7 Sri Lanka 106
8 West Indies 76
9 Bangladesh 54
10 Zimbabwe 28
11 Ireland 25
12 Kenya 2



ICC Ranking for Top 10 Batsman in ODI:
Rank Name Country Rating
1 M.S.Dhoni India 843
2 M.Hussey Australia 792
3 Yuvraj Singh India 773
4 G.Smith South Africa 763
5 A.B.Devilliers South Africa 761
6 S.Chanderpaul West Indies 747
7 C.Gayle West Indies 744
8 R.Ponting Australia 734
9 S.Tendulkar India 704
10 J.Kallis South Africa 701




ICC Ranking for Top 10 Bowlers in ODI:
Rank Name Country Rating
1 K.Mills New Zealand 710
2 N.Kulaskara Sri Lanka 700
3 D.Vettori New Zealand 698
4 Shakibal Hasan Bangladesh 681
5 S.Bond New Zealand 666
6 A.Mendis Sri Lanka 652
7 M.Muralitharan Sri Lanka 645
8 D.Styen South Africa 645
9 N.Bracken Australia 639
10 S.Afridi Pakistan 638



ICC Ranking for Top 10 Cricket Team in Test Cricket:
Rank Team Rating
1 South Africa 122
2 Sri Lanka 120
3 India 119
4 Australia 116
5 England 105
6 Pakistan 84
7 New Zealand 80
8 West Indies 76
9 Bangladesh 13



ICC Ranking for Top 10 Batsman in Test cricket:
Rank Name Country Rating
1 K.Sangakara Sri Lanka 859
2 G.Gambhir India 847
3 D.Jayawardne Sri Lanka 830
4 S.Chanderpaul West Indies 821
5 Md. Yusuf Pakistan 818
6 M.Clark Australia 808
7 Yonus Khan Pakistan 801
8 G.Smith South Africa 782
9 R.Ponting Australia 779
10 J.Kallis South Africa 755



ICC Ranking for Top 10 Bowlers in Test cricket:
Rank Name Country Rating
1 D.Styen South Africa 844
2 M. Muralidaran Sri Lanka 824
3 M.Johnson Australia 786
4 M.Nitini South Africa 741
5 H. Singh India 735
6 S.Clark Australia 710
7 P.Harris South Africa 669
8 Zaheer Khan India 650
9 J.Anderson England 645
10 G.Swann England 634