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."